Fire Destroys EC Office At Tain, NPP Office In BA

The Tain District office of the Electoral Commission (EC) at Nsawkaw in the Brong Ahafo Region has been burnt down, together with ballot boxes, ballot papers, other electoral materials and equipment.

Another fire  swept through a section of the Brong Ahafo Regional Office of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Sunyani at about 2:30 a.m, destroying furniture, the plastic ceiling, television set, airconditioner and documents.

The cause of the fire at the EC office was not known but the incident at the NPP office was said to be related to power fluctuation as a result of a rainstorm.

The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Mr Edward Ashon, told the Daily Graphic in Sunyani that there was no fire service station at Nsawkaw, the district capital.

He said the District Fire Officer, who was stationed at the Seikwa Fire Service Post, which was quite a distance away from Nsawkaw, had been directed to visit the scene to assess the situation and report back accordingly.

Mr Ashon further indicated that even at the Seikwa Fire Post, there was no fire tender to fight any fire outbreak.

The Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP)  Mr  Seth Charles Oteng, also told the Daily Graphic that a team of police investigators led by the Regional Crime Officer had been dispatched to the area to conduct an on-the-spot assessment.

According to DCOP Oteng, reports reaching his office showed that some residents around the building, which was close to the district office of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) spotted smoke that engulfed the premises.

However, he said, they tried unsuccessfully to retrieve the already destroyed items from the office, including ballot boxes, ballot papers, among other items.

In the case of the outbreak at the NPP office in Sunyani, Mr Kwasi Baffour-Awuah, the Municipal Fire Officer, told the Daily Graphic that his outfit received a distress call from one Esther Acheampong at about 2:30 a.m.

He said he quickly organised his men to the scene with a dual purpose fire engine and an ambulance to take care of casualties.

Mr Baffor-Awuah said it took the team about 20 minutes to gain access to the premises, which had been engulfed in  smoke but they managed to put out the fire, which they suspected to have started from the power source of the airconditioner. Story by Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah