A family of four has been killed in a fire outbreak in a rented apartment at Effia in the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipality of the Western Region.
Three co-tenants also sustained various degrees of injuries and are undergoing treatment.
The fire, which cause is not immediately known, according to witnesses, started at about 4:30 pm on Tuesday, February 1, 2021.
The landlord narrated he woke up to shouts and screams of tenants crying for help and quickly rushed to the scene to see smoke coming out from one of the rooms.
“I was in my room when I heard the noise of an exploded gas cylinder. I came out and saw smoke all over, other tenants came around and we tried to rescue those who were trapped in the rooms.
“We were able to save some of them through the window but one woman and her daughter were still in their room. We could not save them on time,” he narrated to Takoradi-based Connect FM.
Ghana National Fire Service personnel, who were called to the scene, reportedly delayed after several calls.
“When the fire started, we called the [Ghana National] Fire Service but no one was responding. They arrived at the scene late. We tried our best to save a woman who was lying in one of the rooms but all efforts proved unsuccessful,” Irene Abban, an eyewitness, indicated.
The Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipal Director for the National Disaster Management Organization, Henry Kwofie, has confirmed that four persons have so far died with others receiving treatment at the hospital.
“The deceased persons include a mother, father, their daughter, and a grandchild. The daughter who is a nurse had visited her mother with her child after work when the fire outbreak occurred. They were trapped in the bedroom and could not be saved.
“We initially saved the husband but he also died later at the hospital,” Mr Kwofie said.
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