Property worth billions of cedis lost to fire at Asante-Bekwai

Bekwai (Ash), Feb 9, GNA - Property running into billions of cedis was lost when fire swept through an Elf Filling Station and an adjoining chain of fitting and welding workshops at Asante-Bekwai on Saturday afternoon.

The fire destroyed three tankers that had been parked to discharge fuel to the station at the time of the incident, a KIA truck and two saloon cars and the workshops were razed to the ground.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known and officials of the Ghana National Fire Service were investigating.

Mr Kofi Opoku-Adusei, Deputy Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area appealed to the GNFS to provide a fire tender for the Bekwai Fire Station. He said some of the property could have been salvaged if there was a fire tender at the station.

The Deputy Minister said the situation where the area had to rely solely on Kumasi to fight fires was not the best, as it did not allow for timely and prompt response to fire emergencies.