Two persons have lost their lives at Fiapre in the Sunyani West Municipality of the Bono Region following a household fire.
The fire outbreak, which took place on the night of Wednesday, January 17, 2024, also destroyed numerous properties worth thousands of Ghana cedis.
According to the Sunyani Municipal Fire Public Relations Officer, ADO1 Isaac Opoku, the Ghana National Fire Service(GNFS) personnel spent hours dousing the fire.
He added that they discovered the bodies of the victims, a male and female, after they completely quenched the fire.
“This dawn, around 00:13 hours, we had an emergency call, and the caller reported a fire outbreak around the Notre Dame area. There is this popular hostel called DK Agyemang where the fire happened, and we moved and arrived there at 00:21 hours. We went around to check and discovered that a four-bedroom apartment was on fire.
“We were told that one man and a lady were trapped inside, and when our men were able to extinguish the fire, they saw their bodies burnt beyond recognition,” ADO1 Opoku said.
Meanwhile, the GNFS has revealed that 263 people died in 5,256 fire outbreaks in 2023.
According to the Chief Fire Officer (CFO), Julius Kuunuor, these were recorded between January and November.
The Eastern Regional Commander of the GNFS, Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO I) Jennifer N.Y. Quaye, also said there was an increase in domestic, industrial, and commercial fire outbreaks in 2023 compared to 2022, likely due to the failure of the public to adhere to best fire safety practices.
She further advised the public to engage qualified electricians to wire their buildings and avoid using inferior or fake cables.