A/R: Another Dagombaline fire destroys homes as Covid-19 lockdown nears

A fire outbreak has for the second time forced hundreds living at Dagombaline, a popular settlement in Kumasi, to flee their homes.

The fast-moving brush fire ignited on Saturday near the West African Examination Council (WAEC) offices. The blaze which started at about 2pm has displaced more than 500 dwellers.

It remains unclear whether there were any casualties as firefighters battled the inferno for about an hour.

The latest incident reportedly occurred at a section of the slum, barely a month after a similar fire outbreak displaced over 13,000 people.

Affected victims are helpless as they recount their losses. They face a double agony in the wake of a partial lockdown announced by government following the Covid-19 outbreak.

“We are stranded because most of us are in the same kiosk. We already wanted to go to our hometown and this too has happened so it has affected a lot of things. Our money and other items are all burnt. We have lost a lot of things.

“I can’t say all that has been lost. If I say I want to talk about the money, I will be a liar. We are about 100 people in this shop”, an affected victim told Citi FM.

Another said: “I have lost all our money. My wife’s money from her business has also been gutted after she left for the market. She came back and she didn’t find anything.”

Ashanti Regional Operations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service Francis Darko-Kono, suspects a possible electrical fault.

“At about 2:50 pm this afternoon, we dispatched an appliance and when we got there, we realized that this portion of the Dagombaline was on fire. We can’t give the exact number of structures but we can see that a considerable number of the structures were being burnt”, the fire officer explained.

“I will say it was a minor one as compared to what happened last month. Previously, it was related to an electrical fault and this has also happened so we will not rule out electrical fault because if you look at what is burnt and the wiring connection, we may say it is an electrical cause”, he stated.

In February this year, 13,000 persons were displaced while about 1000 structures were destroyed as a result of a similar incident at Dagombaline.

The structures that were gutted by the fire are part of about 200 clustered ones inhabited mostly by head porters and scrap dealers in some metal containers.

Adhere to fire safety measures amid Covid-19 crisis

Ghanaians are being reminded to observe safety precautions, especially at home to prevent possible upsurge of fire outbreaks across the country.

The message comes from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), which is issuing the advice to help citizens cope amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

Ghana has so far recorded 141 cases of Covid-19 outbreak with five deaths, the country’s health service has confirmed.

In a bid to prevent the disease from spreading, the Akufo-Addo-led administration tightened travel restrictions including a total shutdown of the country’s borders.

Some parts of the country are facing a partial lockdown in the coming days.

All schools have since been closed as a measure to reduce social gatherings to contain the disease.

Source: Daily Mail GH with additional files from CNR