Tension in Techiman

as two firemen brutally assaulted by irate youth

*No Fire Tender in Techiman as Fire consumes house of a Businessman

*Thousands of euros, dollars and cedis burnt to ashes

Classic news Techiman B/A; A section of the youth in Techiman has called on the Techiman Municipal Assembly to quickly vote money for the rehabilitation of the fire tender. They have threatened to hit the streets in two weeks time if the fire tender is not repaired after assalting two firemen in the Municipality.

The whole Techiman municipality was thrown into confusion when a popular businessman, Nana Kwasi Asare’s house was totally consumed by fire on Sunday. The fire, which started about 8.00 am could not be controlled till the following day. By the time the fire was quenched, there was nothing that was retrieved from the rubbles.

The sad aspect of the scenario is that when the fire started, someone was sent to call the Fire Service personnel but sadly when the messenger reached the fire station, he was told that the only fire tender serving the municipality had broken down. When calls were made to Fire Service stations in the surrounding districts, they did not respond to the distress calls.

Sympathizers had to carry water from their homes to help but that too could not solve the problem as they stood looking with awe. By the time Classic news reached the place, not a single item was retrieved as the whole building started caving in. Tears rowed down the cheeks of family members who had gathered at the site to sympathize with their kinsman.

Speaking to Classic news, Nana Asare said similar calamity befell him in 1996 when fire burnt down his house in Kumasi. He said in that particular case he lost his children in the inferno and everything that he toiled to get and he sustained serious injuries.

In the recent fire outbreak, monies that he had withdrawn from the banks and exchanged into Dollars and Euros with the intension of traveling to Korea to do business were also burnt. He told newsmen that in all he lost about two million Ghana Cedis in the inferno.

He appealed to the government to resource the Ghana National fire Service to enable them perform their duties. According to Nana Asare if the fire tender was working the situation could have been brought under control. He wondered why a whole municipality like Techiman which can boast of the largest market in the West Africa Sub-region is not having a serviceable fire tender to serve the people in time of fire outbreak.

By Oheneba Appiagyei Donkor, Classic FM Techiman B/A