Sunyani, Jan. 21, GNA - Fire destroyed properties worth GHC 1,435,934 and killed 33 persons in Brong Ahafo last year, Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) Kwaku Manu Afful, Regional Commander, said on Tuesday.

He told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the region recorded 412 fire cases in which bush fires were the highest of 155 and domestic 146.

ACFO Afful said 45 of the cases were vehicular, 27 electrical, 11 industrial, five commercial, three institutional and 20 others. Three people got injured in the cases, he added, saying the region also recorded 77 road traffic accidents in which 29 persons died and 37 rescued.

ACFO Afful noted with concern the rate at which lunatics were allowed to roam everywhere and had been identified as causing some of the bush fires in the region.

"The lunatics can travel long distances and they inadvertently set fire anywhere to prepare food when they feel hungry," the Regional Fire Commander stated.

He said lunatics who smoke cigarettes also throw the pieces into the bush after smoking and that also caused bush fires. ACFO Afful appealed to the police to help address the problem of the lunatics so they could be safely confined at the psychiatric hospitals.

He advised the public to be careful with the source of energy they use at home and to place lighted candles in containers with water and to use gas in open spaces so that in case of leakage it would not explode to cause fire.

He urged farmers to send food from home to the farm and stop cooking on the farms and they should weed instead of burning in the dry season, especially in preparing their farm lands for cultivation. ACFO Afful advised shop owners and landlords to engage the services of qualified electricians and not to load sockets with more appliances but to ensure that every appliance had its own socket. He said the Ghana National Fire Service would soon embark on a house-to-house and radio campaigns to educate the public in a move to ensure that this year's dry season would record less or no fire outbreaks.