The timely intervention of officials of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) halted a possible raze down of the Radach lodge, a hotel located at Lamashegu a suburb of Tamale, in the Northern Region.

Guests including more than 30 media practitioners managed to escape unhurt, as workers at the lodge tried to fight the fire using their fire extinguishers prior to arrival of the GNFS.

An official of the GNFS, Mr Frank Baah, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the fire was caused by power fluctuations.

He explained that the fire began when the Air Conditioner in one of the rooms was overheated and sparked fire which later extended to a wooden table underneath.

According to him, the combustible nature of the table intensified the fire, thus producing thick smoke, and said it was only the table and AC that got burnt.

Mr Baah who is an Assistant Station Officer admonished the general public and patrons of hotels to always ensure that all electrical gadgets were turned off before they left their rooms, and indicated that “if the Air Conditioner had been turned off, the fire would not have occurred.”

Madam Faustina Frimponmaah Asare, Assistant Manager at the Lodge briefing journalists who were at the lodge for a workshop, disclosed that the lodge had 64 rooms, and said a customer put on the AC and left the room and never returned until the fire outbreak.

She assured customers and the general public that strict rules would be put in place to curb such unfortunate incident from occurring again, and called on guests to treat hotel rooms as their own.

“If you are home, you will safe energy, and that should be applied to hostels or guests rooms,” she said.

Mr Emmanuel Akayeti, a Journalist with Ghana Broadcasting Cooperation in Bolgatanga told the GNA that he heard some unusual noise from his room on the last floor of the building, and when he rushed out he saw thick smoke from one of the rooms.

He said “I then rushed back and picked my luggage and made my way out. So I joined my colleagues who were already gathered on the compound of the lodge and looked on as the fire officials worked.”