Fire destroys homes, property at Agbogbloshie
About 20 wooden structures being used as homes by residents of Agbogbloshie Point Seven in Accra were destroyed by fire on Thursday.
Advertisement
According to eyewitnesses, the fire started around 5 p.m. when a woman who was heating water with an electric heater left it to take part in a party that was going on in the vicinity.
The residents lost their money and belongings, some of which were burnt to ashes.
The fire also ruined a thanksgiving party for one Pastor Abraham Dzagbletey, who had invited the Royal Palace Band, made up of blind persons, to entertain the guests.
The party and the blind
Pastor Dzagbletey said he organised the party as thanksgiving to God for escaping unhurt from a motor accident early this month.
The party was underway when the fire started, he said, and explained that the blind bandsmen put themselves in groups of three to escape the fire.
Currently, he said, the blind persons were safe but still in shock.
The residents appealed to the government to intervene by granting them loans to start their businesses again, since they had lost their incomes and other valuables.
Fire Service
In an interview, the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, Mr Billy Anaglate, said firemen from the Accra City Fire Station quickly responded to the call that there was fire.
The team later had support from the Industrial Area Fire Station to bring the fire under control.
Mr Anaglate explained that the fire spread rapidly due to the abundance of gas cylinders, candles and other combustibles owned by the residents.
He, therefore, advised the public to keep abreast of fire safety measures.
The fire, he stressed, had primarily been linked to the burning of a plastic container in which a water heater had been plugged and left unattended until all the water evaporated.
