Swift response by Saki High Tension residents helps contain warehouse blaze in Kpone Katamanso
More than 200 residents of Saki High Tension in the Kpone Katamanso Municipality used buckets, pans, and other containers to help contain a fire outbreak at a warehouse on Tuesday before personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) arrived at the scene.
The swift community response which saw children, youth and even the aged communally fighting the fire, prevented the blaze from spreading to adjoining houses within the densely populated settlement and helped minimise the extent of damage.
Residents fetched water from nearby sources and worked together to douse the flames after thick smoke was seen billowing from the facility, which serves as a storage warehouse for finished products awaiting collection by clients.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Alhaji Khalid, Managing Director of Idraft, the affected facility, said no production activities were taking place at the facility when the incident occurred.
Alhaji Khalid explained that a worker who had gone to the warehouse to pick up some items detected smoke coming from the room and immediately raised an alarm.
“The worker noticed thick smoke coming from the warehouse and informed us immediately. We quickly alerted the Ghana National Fire Service, and residents in the community also mobilised themselves to help contain the fire before firefighters arrived,” he said.
Alhaji Khalid commended residents for their prompt intervention, describing their actions as courageous and instrumental in preventing what could have developed into a major disaster.
He said all available fire extinguishers at the facility were deployed to suppress the flames but proved ineffective because of the intensity of the fire and the combustible nature of materials stored in the warehouse.
“Our extinguishers were all used, but because of the magnitude of the fire and the combustible materials in the warehouse, they could not bring the situation under control,” he stated.
The GNA observed that four fire tenders from the Gbetsile, Ashaiman, Tema Harbour, and BOST Fire Stations were deployed to the scene to battle the blaze.
Firefighters worked for several hours to bring the situation under control and prevent the fire from spreading to nearby structures.
No casualties were recorded, although portions of the warehouse and its contents were extensively damaged.
The cause of the fire is yet to be established. Officials of the GNFS have commenced investigations to determine its origin.
Residents praised the collaboration between community members and emergency responders, saying the collective effort helped avert a potentially devastating fire disaster.