A 27-year-old male attendant at Wisom Gas refill station under Hills Oil Marketing Company at Katamanso in the Kpone-Katamanso Municipality, is receiving treatment at the Tema General Hospital following a fire outbreak on Sunday morning.
Tema Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, DOIII Ebenezer Yenzu, told JoyNews the personnel received a distress call around 5:54 a.m.
“At about 5:54 a.m, we received a call from our control room of a fire incident at Katamanso. The fire station in the area is just about 2 minutes drive from the gas station and had to rush here to bring the situation under control.”
“We also dispatched our fire appliances from Ashaiman, Dodowa and other places as well to help after the initial assessment,” he said.
When the team arrived at the scene, the fire had engulfed a discharge pump.
“The fire had started at the discharge pump. The generator room was also on fire. Due to pressure, the tyres beneath the bulk exploded. We were able to put out the fire around 6:29 a.m.,” DOIII Yenzu indicated.
According to him, there is no danger at the moment as resumption of service will depend on owner of the gas station.
“They would have to get equipment to help them in the discharging process looking at the extent of damage. The fire destroyed the generator and the discharge pump apart from the tyres beneath the bulk which exploded,” he said.
“We have been able to salvage about 20 tons of gas from the bulk which was stationed here,” he continued.
DOIII Ebenezer Yenzu warned the public against rushing to fire scenes as a safety measure.
“If you rush to the fire scene and you do not know the dangers awaiting, you do this at this at your own peril. Fire personnel are trained to manage such situations and civilians must take note”
“We did our best to push back residents wanting to get that close. In case of fire, stay away to save yourself and in the event of an explosion, you may be caught up and lose your life as we have witnessed in the past,” he advised.
When JoyNews approached the owner of Wisdom Gas Station, he declined to comment
