Fire destroys wooden structure at Kokomlemle; Renders 5 families homeless
Fire, yesterday, broke out in a wooden structure close to the Kokomlemle Police Barracks in Accra, reducing two of its five rooms into a pile of ashes and rubble.
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The fire also caused considerable damage to the remaining three rooms, rendering them inhabitable. No human casualty was reported.
The fire was said to have started in one of the rooms at about 7:30 a.m, and within minutes engulfed the whole structure.
It took fire fighters from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), security personnel and residents with the aid of two fire engines nearly two hours to bring the fire under control.
When the Daily Graphic reached the scene, there was smoke everywhere and some victims looked helpless since they could not recover anything from the fire. Others, however, were busily salvaging the little they could from the debris, as the fire fighters got ready to leave the scene.
Following the incident, some victims have been forced to sleep in the open while others are putting up with their relatives.
How the fire started
A victim, Madam Matilda Atipoe, who had lived in the area for close to 30 years, said she noticed smoke coming out of one of the rooms in the house at about 7:30 a.m.
“I rushed to my room to be sure it wasn’t coming from my own room because my other neighbour had travelled. When I came out of my room, I realised that the smoke was rather coming from that neighbour’s room.”
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Madam Atipoe said she rushed to get a crowbar to get her neighbour’s door opened but by the time she got it, the fire had engulfed the whole place.
She told the Daily Graphic that police personnel from the barracks helped in quenching the fire, while others made calls to the GNFS.
“Now I have lost everything including my travel documents and money. For clothing, the one I am wearing is all I have now,” she added.
GNFS
The Deputy Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Prince Billy Anaglate, said the office received a call at about 8:11 a.m. and fire fighters reached the scene six minutes later.
“When we got here, the whole place was on fire and we first had to disconnect all electrical connections before quenching the fire,” he said.
He said preliminary investigations gathered at the scene revealed a rice cooker with rice in it, but they were yet to investigate whether it was the cause of the incident.
Prince Anaglate expressed worry that the initial number, 999, which the victims used in their attempt to get to the GNFS, was not the correct number and advised that the general public should have emergency numbers on speed dial on their phone at all times to prevent them from calling wrong numbers.
Meanwhile, the victims have appealed to the government to come to their aid.