One die, palace destroyed in Brong Ahafo fires
Arku Jasmine
Fire has gutted the 24-bedroom palace of the chief of Nsoatre in the Sunyani West District in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The timely intervention of personnel from the Sunyani and Berekum Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), however, prevented the fire, which started at about 6:45a.m. on Thursday, from spreading to a storey building in front of the 24 bedroom house, which serves as the chief's main palace .
The palace has no occupants because of a 14 year-old chieftaincy dispute in the town following the demise of Nana Akwasi Hinne II, Omanhene of Nsoatre Traditional Area, about a decade ago.
The Sunyani Municipal Deputy Fire Commander, Divisional Officer Grade III (DO III), Mr Francis Gaisie, who confirmed the fire outbreak to the Daily Graphic, said the fire started from a garage in the palace where an old Benz car had been abandoned.
He said no casualty was recorded since the palace had been abandoned as a result of the chieftaincy dispute in the town.
In a related development, fire destroyed nine bedrooms at the ground floor of a one-storey building behind the Kasadjan construction firm yard in Sunyani on Wednesday.
Occupants of the nine bedroom house could not salvage anything as all their personal belongings, electrical gadgets and cash in their rooms were totally destroyed by the fire which is reported to have started from one of the bedrooms.
According to the Sunyani Municipal Deputy Fire Commander, DO III Mr Gaisie, it took personnel from the command two and half hours to bring the fire under control as a result of the explosion of some liquified petroleum gas cylinders that were kept in some of the bedrooms.
He said no casualty was recorded but those who were affected numbered about 18, including three students.
Mr Gaisie advised residents not to keep their gas cylinders in their bedrooms and appealed to landlords to provide tenants with kitchens to keep their cylinders there as the building which was gutted had no kitchen for tenants.
He further advised residents to switch off all their electrical gadgets when leaving the house anytime to prevent domestic fire outbreaks and also contact the fire service immediately there was fire.
A trader who was affected by the fire said she had lost GH¢2,800 which she had kept in the room while a female student said she had lost her GH¢800 refrigerator that she bought just last week and GH¢400.
In another development, a 65-year-old pensioner at Fiapre, near Sunyani, was burnt to death in his room last Friday night.
The deceased, whose name was given as Mr Amoako by the Fire Service, was said to have lit a candle in the night to sleep but this caused the fire, resulting in his death.
According to the Fire Service, his body was burnt beyond recognition while the fire that started from his room also affected three other bedrooms in the compound house in which he lived.
Some residents said the old man had argued over the cost of electricity bills in recent times and had therefore decided to use candles.
He was said to have lost his son three days to his death.
By Samuel Duodo/Daily Graphic/Ghana
The timely intervention of personnel from the Sunyani and Berekum Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), however, prevented the fire, which started at about 6:45a.m. on Thursday, from spreading to a storey building in front of the 24 bedroom house, which serves as the chief's main palace .
The palace has no occupants because of a 14 year-old chieftaincy dispute in the town following the demise of Nana Akwasi Hinne II, Omanhene of Nsoatre Traditional Area, about a decade ago.
The Sunyani Municipal Deputy Fire Commander, Divisional Officer Grade III (DO III), Mr Francis Gaisie, who confirmed the fire outbreak to the Daily Graphic, said the fire started from a garage in the palace where an old Benz car had been abandoned.
He said no casualty was recorded since the palace had been abandoned as a result of the chieftaincy dispute in the town.
In a related development, fire destroyed nine bedrooms at the ground floor of a one-storey building behind the Kasadjan construction firm yard in Sunyani on Wednesday.
Occupants of the nine bedroom house could not salvage anything as all their personal belongings, electrical gadgets and cash in their rooms were totally destroyed by the fire which is reported to have started from one of the bedrooms.
According to the Sunyani Municipal Deputy Fire Commander, DO III Mr Gaisie, it took personnel from the command two and half hours to bring the fire under control as a result of the explosion of some liquified petroleum gas cylinders that were kept in some of the bedrooms.
He said no casualty was recorded but those who were affected numbered about 18, including three students.
Mr Gaisie advised residents not to keep their gas cylinders in their bedrooms and appealed to landlords to provide tenants with kitchens to keep their cylinders there as the building which was gutted had no kitchen for tenants.
He further advised residents to switch off all their electrical gadgets when leaving the house anytime to prevent domestic fire outbreaks and also contact the fire service immediately there was fire.
A trader who was affected by the fire said she had lost GH¢2,800 which she had kept in the room while a female student said she had lost her GH¢800 refrigerator that she bought just last week and GH¢400.
In another development, a 65-year-old pensioner at Fiapre, near Sunyani, was burnt to death in his room last Friday night.
The deceased, whose name was given as Mr Amoako by the Fire Service, was said to have lit a candle in the night to sleep but this caused the fire, resulting in his death.
According to the Fire Service, his body was burnt beyond recognition while the fire that started from his room also affected three other bedrooms in the compound house in which he lived.
Some residents said the old man had argued over the cost of electricity bills in recent times and had therefore decided to use candles.
He was said to have lost his son three days to his death.
By Samuel Duodo/Daily Graphic/Ghana