Mampong (Ash), March 25, GNA - A seven-month-old baby girl was burnt to death in the early hours of Friday when fire destroyed a three bedroom house in the Abrokutoaso suburb of Asante-Mampong. According to eyewitnesses the mother of the baby, Madam Naomi Oduro, was outside washing clothes when the fire started at about 0530 hours.

However, she could not save the baby who was sleeping in one of the bedrooms before the fire went out of control. Madam Oduro lives in the house with her husband and two children but at the time of the incident the husband had travelled to a nearby town.

Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) were called to put off the fire almost an hour after it had started. Later in an interview with the GNA, Mr Bimpong Ababio, a Station Officer of the GNFS, said it took them almost three hours to put off the fire that candlelight was believed to have caused.

According to Mr Ababio, at least some property could have been saved if the Fire Service was called in earlier.

He said they also had to travel far to refill their fire tender because of the lack of water hydrants at vantage points in Mampong. Mr Adu Gyamfi, also a station officer of the GNFS, appealed to the Sekyere West District Assembly to make sure that the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) provides more water hydrants in the town. Mr Haruna Oppong-Boateng, the District Chief Executive and Mr Peter A. Sarkodie, the Member of Parliament for Mampong, visited the scene of the disaster to sympathise with the victims.