Regional News of Wednesday, 22 September 2010

Source: GNA

Fire destroys footwear and garment stores on the Elubo border

Elubo (W/R) Sept. 22, GNA-About three hundred wooden structures owned by footwear and clothing sellers and some residential blocks close to the Elubo border post were razed by fire on Wednesday. Briefing the Jomoro District Executive, Mr. Victor Kablan who rushed to the scene from Half Assini, Mr. Kwasi Nipa Kwame, Elubo Zonal Officer of the National Disaster Management Organization, said a power cut 1030 hours could have caused the fire outbreak.

According to Mr. Kwame, an owner of a store in the area had put on his power generating machine which later caught fire. He said his colleagues abandoned him and rather evacuated their goods from their stores to safe grounds. The fire later spread to nearby stores, residential houses and other wooden structures destroying goods and personal effects of some residents in the area.

He said the arrival of fire Service Personnel from Agona Nkwanta, Takoradi and Tarkwa around 1530 Hours prevented the fire from sweeping through the Police Station and the Jomoro Rural Bank. Mr. Kwame said some angry youth from Elubo threw stones and other missiles at a team of police personnel who arrived from Half Assini to help.

A victim of the fire, Mr. Anthony Armah told the Ghana News Agency that this is the third time in two years that fire had destroyed properties. No lost of live has been reported so far. The Fire Post at Half Assini, the Jomoro district capital, has only two officers with only a fire extinguisher as their equipment. 22 Sept. 10