Citronella factory in flames at Breman Asikuma

Breman Asikuma (Central Region) - The timely arrival of personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) saved QUNAK Enterprise Limited, a citronella oil extraction factory at Breman Asikuma, from being totally destroyed by fire.

It took fire personnel about two hours to put off the fire, which burnt down the wooden pillars that support the structure housing the oven and the cooking pot of the factory.

Briefing the Ghana News Agency at the site, the machine operator, Mr Kwabena Pobi said the fire might have been caused by a spark from the oven that ignited waste citronella grass heaped around the structure.

He said he fired the oven operated by firewood and left to fetch more firewood only to return to meet the GNFS battling the fire, which had almost engulfed the entire structure.

Mr Appiah Sam, a farmer who called in the fire personnel, said that about 11.30 a.m., he sent his produce to the site and found out that the factory was in flames, and therefore called in the GNFS.

The fire personnel advised the manager of the factory to desist from piling up waste products around the structure to avoid future disasters. This is the third time in two years that the factory has caught fire.