Fire destroys property at Chinese furniture company on Spintex road (photos)
An Inferno which swept through the workshop and warehouse of a Chinese furniture producing company, Huawei Furniture at Kotobabi Junction on the Spintex Road Thursday evening destroyed property running into millions of Ghana cedis.
The fire, which destroyed machinery at the company’s workshop, part of which also serves as a holding warehouse for items made up of finished furniture meant for distribution, large quantities of wood, leather and upholstery fabrics among others also destroyed parts of a one-storey house which serves as a residence for the Chinese workers of the company.
Personal effects, school certificates among other household items and a vehicle in an adjourning gated apartment, K. Ofori Community Apartment, where the fire quickly spread were also destroyed.
The residence of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Danadams Pharmaceuticals, Dr Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, which adjourned the K. Ofori Apartment also suffered broken windows and glasses as a result of the intense heat that emanated from the fire scene.
The availability of industrial fire extinguishers at the residence were used to fight the fire from the K. Ofori residence saved Dr Adu-Gyamfi’s home from also being gutted.
It took a combined fire brigade from Teshie-Nungua, Tema, Airport and Accra Central a total of about four hours to douse the flame.
A worker of the company, Mr Ebenezer Ntow attributed the fire to an electrical fault. According to him, the fire started around 5:55 pm, moments after the workers were rounding up activities for the day.
“The lights suddenly went off when we were about to leave the main workshop where we worked as carpenters. Moments later, one of our colleagues who works in the foam holding warehouse started screaming fire, fire”, Mr Ntow told Graphic Online.
“We attempted using the fire extinguishers available at the facility, but due to the combustible nature of the items in stock, the extinguishers could not withstand the might of the fire”, he added.
Several people in the vicinity which hosts stalls, fast food joints, several container and wooden vending shops some of which serves as home to many squatters around the area an athletic fashion sprinted in an attempt to evacuate property from the shops before the fire possibly spreads to them.
While others run for their lives, some brave ones attempted attacking the fire by helping some workers of the factory who frantically employed the use of buckets of water to douse the fire.
The situation also provided an opportunity for some petty thieves who invaded the scene.
The situation became tensed when the fire tender which initially came to the scene run out of water and could not immediately locate any water hydrant nearby to continue the operation.
With no fire brigade along the entire Spintex stretch, firemen who came from nearby Teshie-Nungua had to call for reinforcement from Tema and the Airport Fire Brigades.
A near confusion also broke out between the fire fighters as some residents launched verbal attacks on them for bringing only one fire tender to the scene.
A worker at the factory, Mr Joseph Tetteh in the company of others who were escaping the raging fire however the melee passed out and was later revived at the nearby Danpong Medical Clinic, where he was rushed to in a taxi cab.
The Batsonaa Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Baba Adamu who led a team of men from the division also evacuated residents of the K Ofori Apartment whose homes were severely affected to a nearby hotel.
A police deployment which got to the scene an hour and half later to protect life and property however launch had confrontation with scores of residents who besieged the warehouse to catch a glimpse of the situation.
They gave multiple slaps to people they felt were impeding their efforts to control the massive crowd at the fire scene.
Writer’s email: della.russel@graphic.com.gh
