General News of Monday, 2 February 2004

Source: GNA

Accra's population explosion has bearing on fire outbreaks

Accra, Feb 2, GNA - Population explosion in Accra has a bearing on fire outbreaks within the Metropolis, the Regional Fire Officer (RFO) has observed.

Mr Samuel Assiem Yankey, who made the observation in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, explained that since most of the people in Accra were putting up in temporary structures, they had resorted to improper electrical connections.

This, Mr Yankey said, contributed in no small measure to most of the fire outbreaks in the Metropolis last year.

Giving statistics, the RFO said out of a total of 710 fire outbreaks in Accra last year, domestic fires alone accounted for 358 of them, while 81 of the rest were due to faulty electrical installations. He said the remainder of 271 fires were commercial, vehicular, industrial, refuse dumps, institutions and bushfires.

Mr Yankey advised residents in the Metropolis to endeavour to be very cautious in the handling of electrical gadgets to help minimise fire outbreaks.