The late Kingsford Kofi Acheampong.
A 16-MONTH-OLD baby was burnt to death when fire completely razed down a two-bedroom wooden structure on Christmas Day at Shanghai, a suburb of Kpone, near Tema in the Greater Accra Region.
The baby boy, whose name was given as Kingsford Kofi Acheampong, was sleeping in the wooden structure while his mother and twin brother were outside when the incident occurred.
Mortal remains of the baby were initially deposited at the morgue of the Tema General Hospital for preservation before they were interred at the Community 9 Cemetery in Tema.
The inferno, which started at about 12 noon, destroyed assets worth hundreds of Ghana cedis. Although the cause of the fire was yet to be established, residents believe it was sparked by electricity.
According to one of them, “There was blackout and the fire started immediately the light came on, which burnt the house completely in less than 10 minutes whilst the toddler was fast asleep in the room.”
He further stated that some residents attempted to save the innocent baby but the thick smoke and wild fire impeded their rescue effort, leading to the toddler’s tragic death.
“We tried to pull out some of our properties and save the boy but it didn’t work. In ten minutes, everything was burnt down – everything from television to wardrobe, including the baby,” one of the eyewitnesses lamented.
The timely intervention by the Tema Industrial Area Fire Service with support from police personnel at Kpone and personnel from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) prevented the fire from spreading to other neighbourhoods.
Confirming the incident to DAILY GUIDE, Francis Acheampong, a cabbie and father of the deceased, expressed much pain about the death and properties lost to the wild inferno.
He therefore appealed to residents, philanthropists and the government to support them to put up a new house, saying, “We are now homeless and stranded and don’t know what to do again. We need support to put up our house again so we can get a place to sleep.”
Form Vincent Kubi, Shanghai