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Boy, 7, burnt to death at Swedru

A seven-year-old boy was last Monday burnt to death at Assissim, a suburb of Agona Swedru in the Central Region.
Nana Adjei was sleeping in a wooden structure when fire gutted the locked room.

The charred body of Adjei has since been deposited at the Swedru Government Hospital morgue for autopsy.

According to information gathered by this reporter, the credit on the prepaid meter in their house got used up that evening and Adjei’s father, Mr Emmanuel Adjah Adjetey, an umbrella repairer, left a lighted candle in the room where the boy was sleeping and went out around 8 p.m.

Not long after, neighbours detected smoke coming out of the room and raised an alarm but because the door was locked, they could not rescue the boy.

The Swedru Divisional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Nana Asomah Hinneh, said his outfit was informed about the incident around 10 p.m. last Monday and some police personnel, together with personnel from the Swedru station of the Ghana National Fire Service proceeded to the scene.

According to him, when the fire personnel managed to bring the fire under control, the charred body of the boy was found on the floor.

He said the police were awaiting the findings of investigations from the Fire Service for further action.

Advice

The Agona West Municipal Fire Commander, DO1 Ebenezer Mensah, said the timely response from his outfit prevented the fire from spreading to other rooms in the house.

He advised people who used candles to always place them on metal objects, surrounded by water and not close to combustible substances.

DO1 Mensah also urged the public to take the education on how to prevent fires seriously, as the dry season approached, and called on drivers to always make way for fire engines on hearing the fire siren.

By Gilbert Mawuli Agbey/Daily Graphic/Ghana

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