Adenta, July 1, GNA - Fire on Monday gutted the first floor of the Adenta SSNIT flat Number 32, Room Number A3 and destroyed property valued at over 30,000 Ghana cedis.

But for the timely intervention of personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service the fire, which started around 1330 hours and lasted for about an hour, would have spread to the second floor of the flats. Property destroyed in the fire included fridges, television sets, electrical gadgets, documents, clothing and other personal effects. Mr Chris Twum, a journalist and a victim of the incident, told the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday that they experienced a series of power fluctuations on Saturday and Sunday during the rains, adding that they switched off their main power source.

Mr Twum said on Monday, at about 1330 hours, his mother switched off some electrical gadgets from the power source when the fluctuations started generating sparks in some of the electrical sockets. He said his mother checked the other rooms and saw that fire had started in his (Twum's) room and called for help. Two neighbours fought the fire with a fire extinguisher but to no avail as the room was engulfed in smoke.

A call was made to the Fire Service and they responded promptly, bringing the fire under control within six minutes. Mr Twum said officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana confirmed that the sparks and power fluctuations experienced in the flats was due to a fault with the underground cable connected to the flat.

The officials claimed they cannot be held reliable because the occupants did not report the fault. He further said officials of National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) who assessed the damage to the flat have promised to aid them.