By Mohammed Balu
Tumu, (UWR), March 11, GNA – There has been a reduction in fire outbreaks in the Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West Region in 2023 and 2024.
Mr Gordon Tierku, ADO 1, the Sissala East Municipal Fire Officer who revealed this to the Ghana News Agency at Tumu, said the municipality recorded 30 fire outbreaks in 2023 as against 24 in the year 2024.
He said domestic fires significantly outnumber other outbreaks, primarily due to improper handling and usage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), substandard electrical cables, and aging wiring.
He said in 2023, 12 domestic fires were recorded, while they decreased to only nine in 2024 and that other fire incidents included bushfires as well as industrial and commercial fires, which were on the rise.
The Municipal Fire Officer expressed concern that the estimated cost of damages often exceeded the potential salvage cost explaining that many property owners failed to cooperate with firefighters during incidents, and some were unable to assess the value of their properties, leading to a lack of salvage estimates in most cases.
Mr Tierku raised concern about the absence of fire hydrants, which hindered access to water sources during fire outbreaks.
He urged the contractor responsible for the new Tumu town water system to consider installing fire hydrants in designated areas of the municipality to improve firefighting capabilities.
In a separate incident, a ranch was burnt in Tumu, resulting in the death of four cattle.
Mr Lateef Iddrisu, the cattle owner told the GNA that the source of the fire was not known.
He said that at the time of the fire16 cattle were inside, but four died.
He said it took the intervention of neighbours who helped to break the ranch for the animals to escape the fire.
GNA
CAE /BM