Fire consumes mother, eight-month-old baby, other on Good Friday

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A mother and her two children, including a breastfeeding baby, died after a fire destroyed their house early on Good Friday, officials say.

The incident happened at New Takoradi in Ghana’s Western Region, local media reported.

The woman in her early 30s and her children; a one-and-a-half-year-old boy and eight-month-old girl were taking their bath in a compound house when the fire started, 3news.com reported.

Images circulated on social media captures chaotic scenes at a settlement as smoke billows from one of the houses nearby.

Witnesses narrated to the portal that a premix fuel, which was stored close to the bathroom in the house and was being transferred near a naked fire, triggered the inferno at about 9am.

The victims were said to have been caught up in the huge blaze. Their lifeless bodies were later discovered hours after the fire was extinguished by neighbours.

Two other survivors, a man and a woman who were said to be pouring the fuel product at the scene suffered severe burns and have been rushed to a nearby health facility for treatment.

Assemblyman for New Takoradi Lower Down, Gilbert Siaw Afriyie (Hon), who helped residents to quench the flame said they did not know the victims were in the bathroom at the time, describing the incident as strange.

He suspected the three were weakened by the heat from the inferno.

According to him, immediately the fire started, they informed the Ghana National Fires Service and also called the Electricity Company of Ghana to cut power to the area while they fought the fire with sea water, sand and wet blankets.

Firefighters account

Divisional fire officer at the Sekondi Fire Metro Station, Michael Tetteh, told our correspondent Nhyiraba Paa Kwesi Simpson at the scene that they received a call about fire outbreak at the New Takoradi Lower Down at about 9:16 a.m.

He said they mobilized and rushed to the area within seven minutes but when they got there, the fire had already been doused by the people around.

The fire officer said they were informed of how the fire started and the fact that three persons had lost their lives.

“Information so far suggests that they had bought premix fuel which was being stored in the house. They were pouring some of the fuel and nearby was a woman cooking. This triggered fire outbreak,” he stated.

He has thus advised the people in the area, who are predominantly engaged in fishing, against storing fuel in their houses, indicating it is not safe.

“Though it [premix fuel] is liquid, it vaporize and if not well handled, it could cause fire,” the fire officer stated.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ghanaians are being reminded to observe safety precautions, especially at home to prevent possible upsurge of fire outbreaks across the country.

Source: Daily Mail GH