Tema slum community razed down by fire

Fire swept through a section of a slum community opposite the Meridian branch of the Ghana Commercial Bank in Tema on Monday.

Even though no life was lost, the ravaging fire destroyed about 26 shacks and property running into hundreds of Ghana cedis and rendered some of the slum dwellers homeless.

The timely response of personnel from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority Fire Brigade and the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) prevented the fire from spreading to other parts of the community.

 Properties such as television sets, bags, mattresses, mobile phones and personal belongings were totally burnt.

Response

According to the Deputy Tema Metropolitan Fire Officer, D.O II Mr Percy Annang, the GNFS received a distress telephone call about 1:26 p.m. requesting assistance to put out fire that had swept through a wooden structure in the area.

He said the personnel initially faced challenges in putting out the fire because of the haphazard nature in which the structures were built and lack of access routes to the fire scene.

Mr Annang noted that it took about two hours for the personnel to put out the fire.

He, therefore, called on the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) to check the springing up of slums in the metropolis.

Meanwhile, investigations are underway to establish the cause of the fire.

Victim

One of the victims, Alhassan Abdul Jadafu, a truck pusher at the Tema Community One Market, said he had lost property, including items he had bought for his marriage ceremony scheduled for next month.