Winneba (C/R), June 25, GNA - The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Mike Hammah has expressed the need for Ghanaians to observe fundamental fire safety measures to avoid man-made fire disasters.

He said keeping petroleum products in bed rooms and stores, failure to put out fire after cooking, replacement of old electrical wires and leaving lighted candles to burn off in the rooms were the major factors that contributed to fire outbreaks.

Mr Hammah who is also the Member of Parliament for Effutu in the Central Region, made the call when he was accompanied by some local executives of the National Democratic Congress to console fire disaster victims in Winneba, which occurred a fortnight ago.

The disaster destroyed four compartment stores resulting in total collapse of the building.

Mr Hammah urged the people to be vigilant when dealing with fire, adding that in the event of such outbreaks they should quickly call personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service, who have been trained to manage or fight fire when it occurs.

He also advised them not to hesitate to insure their stores and other properties, saying 93insurance is all about pulling limited resources together to help the larger community when the need arise".

He said the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Assembly were putting things together to support the victims and appealed to corporate bodies to assist the process.

The Minister charged fire personnel to speed up with their investigations into the circumstances that led to the fire outbreak and also come out with the estimated cost of the damage for the Assembly to take further action.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Alfred A. Acheampong, Officer in-charge of the Winneba District Fire Service Directorate said according to eyewitness the fire started around 0158 hours, but the Service had a telephone message around 0336 hours.

He said some of the items destroyed by the fire included cameras, printing machines, television sets, fridges as well as cash.

Mr Acheampong advised the people to acquire fire fighting extinguishes in their homes, shops and at other workplaces to be used whenever there is fire outbreak.