Private hospital gutted by fire
The Marvin Hospital at Kotwi in the Atwima Kwanwoma District of the Ashanti Region was razed by fire on Thursday, September 9.
Authorities from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) said the fire started at about 10:45 am, and a distress call was made about 15 minutes later.
The fire team reported that the fire was out of control by the time they got there, leading to the destruction of the entire last floor of the hospital.
The Public Relations Officer for the GNFS in Ashanti Region, Desmond Ackah, said, “We succeeded in coating the fire at 12:39 pm. That is when we succeeded in bringing it under control.”
Meanwhile, a fire officer who was part of the team received treatment at the hospital after he collapsed while on duty.
The officer, according to GNFS, was overwhelmed by the extent of heat while attempting to douse the fire.
The PRO noted that management of the facility was able to evacuate all patients from the hospital before the situation got out of hand.
Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the fire.
He urged the public to desist from waiting for fire outbreaks to explode before reporting to the fire service to minimize the losses and fatalities.
Several fire outbreaks have been recorded in the region in 2021.
Asafo Fire: One Dead, 40 Structures Burnt
One person was confirmed dead as fire swept through scores of structures at Asafo near the VIP Bus terminal in Kumasi.
The fire started at about 2:23 pm on Sunday, May 2, 2021, and razed all the structures located at the entire slum.
The cause of the fire was not known, but properties worth hundreds of Ghana cedis were lost at the pillow and mattress manufacturers enclave.
Two fire tenders were dispatched to the scene, and fire-fighters spent over four hours before bringing the fire under control.
The body of the deceased was conveyed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital morgue.
The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Fire Commander, Divisional Officer Grade 3, Simon Ben Boadu, who confirmed the incident, said his men had a tough time dousing the inferno due to the dense population and the intensity of the fire.
Over 30 Shops Gutted By Fire At Kumasi Central Market
Parts of the Kumasi Central Market was engulfed in fire on Sunday, April 18, which affected 30 shops.
The affected area was dominated by persons who traded in leather materials.
The fire was attributed to illegal wiring.
The Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Fire Service, D.O 3 Desmond Ackah, said: “Our preliminary investigations point to the fact that the place is bedevilled with a lot of illegal wiring activities. Those wirings have been compromised, and they don’t have any protection. They lack earthing systems, breakers, fuses and all the systems that can take excess circuitry”.
“So at the time of the fire, there was a rainstorm with thunder and lightning activity. They suspect that these lighting flashes must have generated excess current into the illegal wiring connectivity there and caused this fair risk. This was also confirmed by the eyewitnesses,” he stated.
Dagomba Line Fire
Scores of wooden structures were gutted at the Dagomba Line slum which provides shelter for head porters, petty traders, scrap dealers, and homeless people.
The same area was affected by a fire at least twice in 2020, with more than 10,000 people being displaced.
The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) had to provide relief for the victims.
Aboabo fire
Fire razed more than 30 shops in the early hours of January 10, prompting firefighters to deploy five tenders to ensure the fire did not spread to other shops.
The firefighters battled the inferno for over three hours before bringing it under control.
The cause of the fire is not known, but some shop owners suspected an electric welder who was carrying out repair works in one of the metal containers in the area.
KNUST incident
At the KNUST, the fire swept through 10 shops at a mini-market behind the Republic Hall.
This occurred barely 24 hours after the tertiary institution re-opened for academic work after staying home for many months due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Several items in container shops were destroyed when the fire was brought under control by fire-fighters at about 02:55 am.
University Relations Officer (URO) of KNUST, Dr Daniel Norris Bekoe, told theghanareport.com there were no fatalities, contrary to reports by some people on social media.
However, some students had to be evacuated from the Republic Hall for their safety.
Management entreated the public to disregard false information circulated on social media that 17 persons, including a porter, lost their lives.
Yesterday’s incident comes just a week after four people were killed in a domestic fire at Manso-Aponapon in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region.
Power upsurge coupled with poor wiring systems were said to have caused the blaze, the Ghana National Fire Service said.
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