Kingdom Books warehouses gutted by fire
Four warehouses belonging to Kingdom Books and Stationery Limited at Prampram in the Greater Accra Region were destroyed by fire.
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The fire, which was said to have begun at about 6 a.m.Sunday, destroyed items including office furniture and stationery said to run into several millions of cedis.
A security guard at the facility who spoke to the Daily Graphic said the fire started at about 6 a.m., attributing the cause to an electrical problem.
The guard, Winfred Lartey, said initial distress calls to the Ghana National Fire Service were unsuccessful so a colleague of his had to rush to the offices of the GNFS to alert the office about the incident.
Response
Briefing journalists on the incident, the Director of Operations of the GNFS, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Mr Julius Kuunuor, said the initial response to the fire was from the Prampram Fire Station, who arrived on the scene at about 6:33 am. He said the team, however, had to call for reinforcement considering the high intensity of the fire.
He said in all, eight fire engines, including a Turn Table ladder, were deployed to the scene to help fight the inferno.
Mr Kuunuor said further that there was also support from the Tema Oil Refinery Fire Brigade as well as five water tanker operators who assisted with water to fight the flame.
Hydrants
He said although there was a fire hydrant at the warehouse, the pressure from its pump was not strong enough to contribute effectively in fighting the fire. He expressed satisfaction that their effort was able to contain the fire in the end.
The disaster brought the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Mr Henry Quartey, to the scene.
The minister and the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Ningo-Prampram, Mr Jonathan Doku, and staff of NADMO at the scene, commended the GNFS for effectively containing the fire.
Mr Quartey expressed sympathy with management of Kingdom Books, and gave an assurance that a thorough investigation would be conducted to unravel circumstances leading to the fire outbreak.
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