Fire burns Sunyani timber market

According to preliminary investigations conducted by the officials of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the blaze was caused by a small fire set to sawdust.

Assistant Divisional Officer (ADO I) Daniel Kpajal, administrator at the Regional Fire Headquarters in Sunyani, told DAILY GUIDE that the heavy winds which preceded Tuesday’s rains, swept the fire from the sawdust to other combustible materials at the site.

He said people in the area initially thought they could handle it when they earlier spotted it, and so they failed to call the fire personnel on time, which ended up engulfing the entire vicinity.

Describing the incident as the major fire outbreak in the region so far in the year, ADOI Kpajal mentioned that the cost of damage was estimated at about GH¢270,000.

He appealed to the Ghana Water Company to ensure that there is always water in the various water hydrants in the municipality.

The senior fire officer indicated that getting access to water to combat the inferno thwarted the efforts of fire fighters since the two water hydrants close to the area were all without water.

Meanwhile, former Ghana’s Ambassador to Libya and High Commissioner to Nigeria, George Kumi, on Wednesday visited the area to empathize with the victims.

Mr Kumi, who is contesting the Sunyani East parliamentary seat on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), donated GH¢500 to the victims to alleviate their plight, whiles promising them to help rebuild the place.

The spokesperson for the affected persons, Mohammed Idris, commended the former envoy, saying that his intervention was timely, and would go a long way to cushion the victims.