File Photo
The Western Regional Office of Administration of Stool Lands in Sekondi has been razed by fire, which started around 0600 hours on Sunday and believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) arrived at the scene around 0830 hours to help douse the fire but was unsuccessful.
Mrs Veronica Koney, the Second in Command of the Western Regional Command of the GNFS, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said she received a phone call about the fire and quickly rushed to the scene.
She arrived at the scene to meet her men already trying to douse the fire where a greater portion of the building had been ungulfed in flames.
"We later realised that the roofing of the building was made with wood, felt and coal tar, which are good combustibles of fire and this made the fire escalate quickly. My men did their best but couldn't retrieve anything from the fire nor quench it early and completely as expected".
The GNFS finally managed to bring the fire under control and prevented it from spreading to other nearby buildings. However all items in the building were burnt to ashes. Close to 10 water tenders were brought in to douse the fire in addition to a water tanker from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, and support from personnel of the Ghana Navy. Mrs Koney said most of the fire hydrants in the area were not functioning so her men had to drive all the way to the Regional Office for water and that delayed the process.
She advised that old buildings should be rewired every 10 years to prevent such incidents.
Speaking to Mr Issac Kofi Sagoe, the Board Chairman of the Western Regional Lands Commission, he said all was not lost since they had backups of most of the documents.
He explained that a crisis meeting would be held on Monday, May 6, for the way forward and assured clients to remain calm as they would work in their best interest.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Anthony K. K. Sam, who visited the scene, said it was unfortunate that such national property had been lost but expressed relief that no life was lost.
