Fire Razes Provision Shops, Corn Mill In Hohoe

Fire Razes Provision Shops, Corn Mill In Hohoe

In Hohoe, an early-morning fire destroyed a number of stores, a restaurant, and a maize and fufu mill. The estimated start time of the fire on Sunday at around 4:30 am resulted in thousands of cedis worth of things being lost.

Eyewitness Master Dzayon Joshua told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that he observed smoke coming from the mill at 04:30 and hurried to the scene.

He claimed that by the time he arrived at the mill, the fire’s intensity had grown and had even reached the electrical lines that were attached to the building.

The fire then quickly spread to the adjacent stores, according to Master Dzayon.

Owner of Amen Chop Bar, one of the impacted businesses, Madam Hannah Amegbor, claimed she received a distress call at around 04:57 telling her that a fire had destroyed her business.

ALSO CHECK: Road contractors accuse SSNIT, GRA of killing sector

She claimed that the first provision shop was already on fire when she arrived, and attempts to put it out proved fruitless.

When they called the Hohoe Municipal Fire Service, Madam Amegbor claimed they were informed that the fire tender was damaged. She also stated that she did not know what started the fire.

According to Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed, owner of one of the destroyed provision stores, he received a call at around 0500 hours, and when he arrived at the scene, all of the items had been consumed and he was unable to rescue anything.

Mr Wisdom Azumah, owner of the mill, said he had been operating since 1989 and it was the first time such an unfortunate incident had happened.He noted that he had no faulty electrical connections that he deemed could be the cause of the fire as speculated.

Da Dzigbordi, Organiser, Hohoe Market Women Association, said they were appalled by the late response of fire officers and was disappointed that the fire tender at Hohoe was faulty.

Station Officer II (SOII) Osei Henry, Hohoe Municipal Fire Officer, told the GNA that at about 0500 hours, they received a call about the incident and when they arrived, the fire was well-lit.

The Hohoe officers were helping to put out the fire while the Kpando Division of the Service was called because, according to him, the fire tender was broken. They arrived at 0600 hours. The fire was put out at 7:00 a.m., according to SOII Osei, who also said that the source of the incident was still being looked into.

The callers dialed the 112 shortcode, sending their information to Accra, which then had to call Ho before Hohoe Division was phoned by Ho, according to him.

The Kpando Division responded quickly and offered assistance, according to SOII Osei.

Hohoe Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) Mr. Daniel Noble Awume paid a visit to the location as the police were on duty to maintain security.