[ 2014-09-28 ]

Two firefighters hospitalised in transformer fire incident
Two firefighters fell unconscious Sunday while
trying to bring under control a fire at a power
station at Winneba in the Central region.

Central Regional Fire Safety Officer Mark Awotwe
Quaye said, “because we were not having the
breathing apparatus which provides oxygen, two of
my men who were fighting the fire collapsed after
inhaling the toxic fume”.

The two men whose names was not readily available
are currently responding to treatment.

A GRIDCO transformer at Winneba caught fire
causing extensive damage to power generators at
the station. It took fire fighters more than an
hour to bring the fire under control.

The burnt power station has plunged a population
of over 60,331 in darkness. The town and its
environs are expected to be without electricity
for a week.

Central Regional Minister, Thomas Aquinas Quansah
told Joy News the situation is not one that can be
addressed immediately. He is however hopeful that
power will be restored in a couple of days.

“This is not something they can fix today but
they have assured us that all hands are on deck to
ensure that the situation is quickly dealt with.
We hope that before the end of the week there
should be a completion of all the repair
works”.

He indicated that Winneba and its environs might
get power earlier than Thursday but Swedru and
Apam will have to wait a while longer.

He described the situation as a disaster but
advised residents to keep calm and allow officials
of the Electricity Company of Ghana to undertake
the repair works.

The company's District Manager at Winneba said
Investigations are underway to establish the cause
of the fire.

Source - MyjoyOnline

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