By Regina Benneh
Asufufu (BR), June 15, GNA – More than ten people narrowly escaped death when a gas filling station at Asufufu, near Sunyani, exploded, burning their story building and properties in the area.
The incident occurred when a truck was offloading gas into the underground tank on Wednesday night at about 1930 hours at Asufufu in the Sunyani East Municipality.
An eyewitness account revealed to the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani in an interview that a private vehicle, with a family on board, was parked at the station to fill a kitchen cylinder when the explosion happened.
The family had to flee for their lives, abandoned the car to be consumed by the flames, witness added.
Most people at the scene, including the victims who lived in the story building adjacent to the gas station expressed disappointment and criticized the delayed response of the fire service, which allowed the fire to spread and cause more destruction.
They stated that the Fire Service was called, but they arrived nearly an hour later when it was too late after damage was already done and that raised concerns about the behaviors of the service which need to be investigated adding that the region’s fire tender was alleged not functioning, and assistance was sought from nearby fire stations at Nsoatre.
The people therefore raised concerns about the safety of gas filling stations in the area and the need for improved emergency response systems.
Assistant Division Officer (ADOI) Kwame Adomako, Deputy Bono Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Fire Service, confirmed the incident to the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani.
He said he received a call from someone at the scene when the explosion started at AGL Gas Filling Station at Asufufu .
According to him, the fire started when the truck was offloading gas into the underground tank destroying a storey building, a salon car, and a tanker discharging liquefied petroleum gas
He said the occupants including children and about 70-year-old man and wife of the storey building adjacent to the filling station, escaped unhurt but lost all their personal belongings except for a fridge and two vehicles.
The cause of the fire, he said, was still unknown, and investigations were ongoing, saying fortunately, there were no casualties, but some of the occupants and bystanders sustained minor injuries while trying to escape.
ADO1 Adomako declined to comment on the incident, but appealed to the government, benevolent societies, and individuals to help secure fire tenders and other equipment for the Fire Command to prevent such incidents in the future as the concerns about the response time of the fire service call for the need for better equipment.
GNA