Fireman single-handedly saves Nkrumah Flats and environs from fire outbreak

But for the timely intervention of an officer of the Ghana National Fire Service during an explosion of an ECG Transformer at the Nkrumah Flats at Larterbiokorshie, a different story would have been told on Monday, June 20.

Apart from single-handedly fighting to douse the fire, the Officer, Assistant Division Officer (ADO) II Isaac Ampah, also used his discretion to go for reinforcement at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital after exhausting the gas in his personal fire extinguisher.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency after the incident, ADO II Ampah said he was preparing to leave for work when he heard an explosion from the transformer, with thick smoke emitting from the equipment.

“I quickly rushed out with my personal fire extinguisher from my house and when I realised it was inadequate, I went in for the one in my car, but sensing danger that it was not going to completely douse the fire, I then rushed to the Korle-Bu hospital, where I got more extinguishers to put off the fire.”

ADO II Ampah advised Ghanaians to have fire extinguishers in their vehicles and homes to be able to withstand emergencies of that nature.

Meanwhile, the area had experienced a total power outage because of the explosion.

Apart from denying residents of power, the outage has also paralysed a number of businesses as Barbershops, Cold stores, Hairdressing saloons and Eateries have either closed down or resorted to alternative sources of power.

The Technical staff of ECG were, however, working hard to restore power to the area when the GNA visited the facility.

An officer, who pleaded anonymity told the GNA power could be restored to the area by the close of the day although no timelines were given.