Some irate youth in the Tafo
Municipality on Thursday, November 19, 2020, attacked some fire service
personnel dispatched to a fire scene in the area.
They accused the firefighters of
arriving to the fire scene late.
One of the fire tender drivers
from the Breman Fire Station sustained injuries.
The fire officers received a
distress call to attend to a fire incident at a house located in the Tafo
Municipality but were met by some irate mob who attacked them and damaged the
engine of the fire tender.
The firefighters abandoned the
tender and sought refuge at the Tafo Municipal Assembly building while the
driver was also rushed to the Tafo Government Hospital for treatment.
Confirming the incident to Citi News, Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer of the
Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Divisional Officer Grade III (DOIII)
Desmond Ackah said the command had to call in additional tenders from the
Manhyia and Komfo Anokye Fire stations to contain the raging inferno.
He indicated that all properties
in the compound house which comprised fifteen bedrooms were destroyed due to
delays caused as a result of the mob attack on the fire officers.
“What happened in the morning
was not Ghanaian and must not be tolerated. We are using your medium to sound a
word of caution to all those who did that, they should turn themselves in
before we come after them because we are going to ensure that they face the
law.”
“We are going to ensure that
they account for what they have done. The fire tender is the property of the
Government, and we use it to serve their own interest”, he said.
He further explained that the
fire started at 11:15 am and the officers were called at 11: 59 am. He insisted
that the fire officers cannot be blamed for their late arrival at the scene as
claimed by the residents.
“Be as it may, we got to the
scene 30 minutes looking at the heavy traffic along the Breman and Tafo
stretch, but we were able to get there. If they had not attacked us, we would
have been able to save some of the rooms. So we will not take it lightly, but
investigations have started and we will ensure that those who did the wrong
will be brought to book”, he added.
Meanwhile, two persons have been
arrested by the Tafo-Pankrono Police Command in connection with the incident.
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