Correspondence from Western Region

Brothels at the Tarkwa railway station have been gutted by fire.

The brothels, made of plywood and numbering about fifty cubicles, were totally burnt down by the fire after 4pm on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Tarkwa.

This is the third time the brothels have been guttered by fire within three months. It happened on the 12th and 24th of December 2022 and on March 28, 2023.

The base has been inundated with prostitutes, most of whom are said to be Nigerians.

An eyewitness, Samuel Mensah, who spoke to GhanaWeb said, there was fire in a refuse dump closer to one of the brothels. After the heavy downpour, there was a storm that swept some of the fire under the plywood which started burning gradually and escalated to the brothels.

“All the 'ashawo' girls came out not knowing what to do. Some had already brought their things out, and others also wanted to go through the fire to bring out their belongings but one fire officer who was around told them not to enter, and that saved their lives,” he said.

The Tarkwa Command of the Ghana National Fire Service was at the scene to douse the fire.

The Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Fire Commander, Alex Asiem said “when we came, we saw that the fire had gutted a drinking spot so we quickly laid two hoses to control the fire and secured the place.”

He said the Fire Service has been frequenting the place to make sure that anything that may cause fire is taken care of.

He commended the affected persons for helping douse the fire.

There have been calls by community folk for the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly to clamp down on the activities of the prostitutes but to no avail. So, the recent fire outbreaks have come as “good news” for some people who abhor such practices.

One person told GhanaWeb "we thank God this place keeps burning because we have made several efforts for the assembly to stop these ashawo girls but no one seems to care.”

“They should destroy all those brothels, grade the place and use it for a market because the land is a vast one. We can use that place for another better purpose,” another person said.

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