Fire guts E.P Church building in Bolgatanga

The Evangelical Presbyterian (E.P) Church's building in Bolgatanga has been gutted by fire leading to streams of destruction and mystically leaving a set of Bibles intact.

The incident, which occurred while the church was not in session, had virtually caused damage to every item including the set of drums and sound systems public address systems, projector, and furniture among other valuables in the building.

Reverend Robert Awuah, Bolgatanga District Pastor of E.P Church, who gave an account of the incident in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said the fire began at about 0400 hours on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.

He said by the time his attention was drawn to the incident, the fire had gone out of control and could not be quenched by volunteers who emerged from the community.

He said the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) was subsequently called in to control the situation.

Rev Awuah said: "Miraculously, everything burnt in the building except a set of four Bibles that were placed on the altar."

Divisional Officer Grade Three (DOIII) Mr. Callistus Nibunu, Upper East Regional Public Relations Officer of GNFS, told the GNA that preliminary investigations showed that the fire was caused by an electrical fault due to a surge in power.

He said: “The intensity of heat observed by the firefighters from the main power source to the church suggested that the fire was caused by an electrical fault.

He explained that due to power fluctuations, the voltage became higher than the capacity the church’s wiring could contain, hence the fire outbreak.

He said gadgets in the church building remained plugged to their respective sockets even though the sockets were turned off adding that it could trigger fire during voltage fluctuations.