Fire tender breaks down few meters to scene of truckload of shea nuts on fire

What was supposed to be a rescue mission for some firefighters in the West Gonja Municipality of the Savanah Region rather turned into a pitiful moment for them when their fire tender gave up on them, few meters to their destination.

The team of officers from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) had been dispatched towards what was a truckload of 260 bags of shea nuts on fire as a result of a road crash.

According to a report by myjoyonline.com, the distressing incident happened at Kabampe in the West Gonja Municipality, leaving the firefighters helpless as they watched on for the fire to completely consume the shea nuts.

The report added that there were three eyewitnesses at the scene of the fire when they arrived: the driver, his driver-mate, and a fire officer who walked from the faulty fire tender to the accident scene, “all looking helpless.”

Andrew Kofi Nimot, the West Gonja Municipal Deputy Fire Officer, told the portal that lack of servicing (the last time being 7 years ago) was the bane of their unfortunate plight on their way to that assignment.

"This car has been here (Municipal command) for almost seven years without servicing. And we have been following the authorities to help service this car. Now, here we are with an emergency case, we are standing watching the scene but the vehicle is faulty parked here.

"It's a mechanical fault because it was jetting before the warning came and if it happens like that, it means we have to stop. Because if you proceed, anything can happen," he explained, the report said.

Rashid Adbulai, the driver of the truck that was caught by the fire explained that they were headed towards Tamale.

"… but we burst a tire and two other tires also removed so, I had to park well. After that, the rubber we used to cover the shea nuts, caught fire and started burning.

"We tried our best to put off the fire but failed. We called them (GNFS) early but their car is the one parked there. It's spoiled," he lamented.

Meanwhile, the Savannah Regional Commander of Ghana National Fire Service office, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Emmanuel Ofori-Adjei, refuted the claims that non-servicing may have caused the breakdown of their fire tender.

"When I took over somewhere in January little funds came and I released them to all the districts to service cars. So, I don't think it will be servicing that has caused it, a vehicle can develop fault at any time," he explained.

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