Aftermath of the blaze
A downpour in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis on Sunday did not only cause flooding at some parts of the metropolis but also contributed to a fire outbreak that occurred at the Bosumtwi-Sam Fishing Harbour in Sekondi.
The fire outbreak, which destroyed a premix fuel station at the harbour, happened after an electricity pole reportedly collapsed onto the facility following a minor landslide triggered by the heavy rainfall.
According to eyewitnesses, the downpour caused a section of the hilly area near the harbour to cave in, bringing down the electricity pole onto the fuel storage station and igniting a blaze.
The fire rapidly spread through parts of the facility, destroying the premix fuel station, two vehicles, and sections of offices and ice storage rooms.
The fire, which started at about 6:00 p.m. and lasted for about two hours, also damaged part of the administration block of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) located within the fishing harbour enclave.
Personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) were quickly dispatched to the scene and worked to contain the inferno before it could spread to nearby structures.
Speaking to journalists, Divisional Officer One (DO I) Emmanuel Bonney of the Western Regional Fire Command said personnel successfully brought the fire under control and extinguished it shortly before 8:00 p.m.
He confirmed that two saloon vehicles and three handcarts were destroyed in the fire outbreak.
He disclosed that preliminary investigations indicated that the situation was worsened by the heavy rainfall, which caused fuel to spread through water-filled gutters toward a nearby coastal fuel tank.
According to him, firefighters focused on preventing the flames from reaching critical infrastructure, including the fuel tank, which could have triggered a much larger disaster.
“You know, the gutters were filled with water, and the fuel was flowing on top of the water, with the fire spreading towards the fuel tank. We had to act quickly to contain it and stop the fire from spreading so that we could extinguish it.
“That is exactly what we did, and we finally extinguished the fire. We were able to prevent the coastal tank from catching fire.
“It was the rear section of the administration block of GPHA that got burnt, but we managed to save the entire building from being destroyed,” he said.
He pointed out that no casualties were reported, and that the GNFS has launched investigations to establish the exact cause of the incident and assess the extent of the damage caused by the fire.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Sekondi