The fire, which broke out on Friday, December 13, affected five structures, including three metal containers and two concrete buildings.
The fire also destroyed 12 saloon cars and one minibus. Another saloon car got partially burnt while four metal containers among other valuables have all been destroyed by the blaze.
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in a Facebook post reported that overhaul operations were currently underway to extinguish any remaining pockets of fire within the affected structures.
Unfortunately, three persons have been burnt to death and nine others who sustained severe injuries have been hospitalised in Obuasi and Kumasi.
Speaking to Citi News, the Obuasi Municipal Fire Commander, DO2 Rita Agboli noted that the swift intervention of the fire service salvaged the situation as they were able to bring the situation under control.
She added that so far, her outfit is yet to ascertain the exact cause of the fire but investigations have begun.
“On Friday, at about 11 hours, we received a distress call that there was a fire at Stadium Junction. Looking at the kind of information, and calls we were getting, we realised that there were a lot of explosions, so we called AGA and Fomena fire stations and they came in timely to distinguish the fire. The fire was under control at 13:00 hours and it was finally distinguished at 14:23 hours. The nature of fire was commercial.
“During the assessment, we realised that 12 saloon cars were totally burnt, one minibus was also totally burnt, and one saloon car was partially burnt. Brake fluid, spare parts, nitrogen gas, carbide, four metal containers and concrete structures were also destroyed. The team salvaged 7 metal containers, three different-storey structures and their contents were salvaged. Three persons lost their lives and nine casualties with various degrees of injuries.”
In an interview with Channel One TV’s Nana Tuffour Boateng, the Assistant Divisional Officer 1, Alex King Nartey of the PRO Department of the Ghana National Fire Service, attributed the fire to indiscriminate wielding.Tourism packages
“The initial assessment we arrived at as a result of the fire was indiscriminate wielding, wielding that didn’t take into consideration any safety precaution using carbide. The carbide came into contact with explosives and combustible materials that caused the explosion leading to loss of lives. The explosion started from the wielding department of a fitting shop, it affected quite a number of buildings.”
He urged the public, particularly artisans working under comparable conditions, to exercise caution when handling fire.
“We advise people that these times are highly unpredictable times that they have to be much more careful and mindful when dealing with fires. We advise against incriminate burning.”
