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Sad end of family
Seven killed by dawn fire at Asante Mampong

Sad end of family

The story of the death of a man of God, his four children and junior brother at Asante Mampong, is one of the harrowing stories that defy understanding. It must remind us that we are mortals. Facing death which is avoidable and realising that you cannot do anything to prevent it can be more than a painful experience, except that the victims are not there to tell their own stories.

It is a reminder as to what we need to do to strike a balance between our safety and security. Because of fear these days, every room is clogged with burglar proof material that makes it difficult for escape in case of extreme emergency. Quite naturally, if the windows were not clogged, all the seven victims of the fire disaster might not have died. Therefore, even as we prepare against robbers, we must equally think about safety in case of the unforeseen.

As it turned out, had it not been for the metal burglar proof that prevented help from reaching Rev. Isaac Adu Botchey and his children, they could have been saved by their neighbours. What it means, therefore is that, the metal which was intended to protect them from harm was the same substance that denied them an escape route.

What I am driving at is that the time has come for our structural engineers to come out with burglar proof material that could be easily folded to give solace to those who might be trapped in their homes and enable them to escape when the need arises. The material should be such that it cannot easily be destroyed by robbers but at the same time it would not be an encumbrance when there is the opportunity to flee from danger. 

What happened to Rev. Botchey and his children is not the first and might not be the last although no one would wish that the incident be repeated. However, until something is done about the current method of constructing burglar proof material, we would fall prey to the same material that is intended to provide us comfort against intrusion by robbers. 

A couple of years back, there was a similar incident in the Ejisu area.  We cannot look on endlessly as innocent souls perish because of the way that the metal burglar proof is constructed. Necessity they say is the soul of wit. Let these needless and avoidable deaths through domestic fires be the basis for the design of protective material that would not be a trap against escape when it becomes imperative.

It was President John F. Kennedy who once said that “if a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” Yes, we have to do something to demonstrate that we are no longer going to sit idly by as innocent people are trapped to death by fire because they are prevented from escaping because of immovable burglar proof metals. 

As we mourn the unfortunate deaths of the family, we must resolve that never again should we allow that many people to die from avoidable and preventable causes. Something drastic and far-reaching, functional and productive must be done immediately to stem the tide.

As a first step, I want to suggest that the National Fire Service is empowered to undertake inspection of households to recommend how burglar proof should be constructed such that an escape route is found. Until then, as individuals, we must find ways to convert existing burglar proof material into convertible structures that could easily be pushed to one side to enabling windows to slide for escape in times of need.

We must all mourn with the family of the deceased, particularly, Mrs Lydia Botchey, who would feel the loss more than anyone else. She has had to bear the unpleasant agony of losing a husband and four children at a go. The loss of a single relative is not easy but the combination of husband and children, when she knew that they were not sick, is something that is not easy to bear. 

Therefore, no one should deny her the fullest expression of her sorrow through weeping. We should encourage her to let her tears flow. Her life can never be the same, except that we must pray that God will shower His favour and blessing upon her so that she would not suffer irreparably from the shock but that she would recover and not lose hope in life.

 This is one of the moments that it is difficult to tell her that in everything we should give thanks to God, although that is what she should do.

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