- Fire explosion at AGL Gas Filling Station destroys building, car, and tanker.
- Fire takes hours to control, 9 people escape nearby house unhurt.
- Victim criticizes Fire Service's delayed response.
- Fire may have been caused by truck discharging and dispensing gas simultaneously.
A devastating fire explosion occurred at the AGL Gas Filling Station in Asufufu, Sunyani East Municipality, Bono Region, on Wednesday night. The explosion destroyed a storey building, a salon car, and a tanker that was discharging liquefied petroleum gas.
The Sunyani Municipal Fire Command responded to the incident, but it took them hours to bring the fire under control. Nine persons who were in a nearby house were affected by the incident but escaped unhurt.
A victim of the fire incident, who lived in the storey building, expressed frustration with the delayed response of the Fire Service. The victim stated that they tried calling the Fire Service, but they arrived almost an hour and a half later.
The victim alleged that the Fire Service initially focused on putting out the fire at the filling station, neglecting the burning building. The Bono Regional Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service, ACFO Olivia Ayem, revealed that initial assessments suggest that the truck that came to discharge gas was also dispensing at the same time, which may have caused the fire.
The Fire Service is yet to determine if this was the exact cause of the fire, and investigations are ongoing. ACFO Olivia Ayem stated that the Fire Service is working to unravel the circumstances surrounding the fire.
