A fire outbreak has claimed the lives of a husband and wife at Kodjonya, a suburb of Odumase-Krobo in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region, after an attempt to treat a bed bug infestation with petrol reportedly turned tragic.
The Somanya Office of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) on Tuesday said it received a distress call in the early hours of the morning and immediately dispatched a fire tender to the scene to contain the blaze.
Speaking in an interview, the Somanya Municipal Fire Commander of the GNFS, DOII Abubakar Musah, said firefighters managed to bring the inferno under control, but unfortunately the couple could not be rescued.
According to him, preliminary investigations suggest that the fire may have started when petrol brought in to treat bed bugs, encountered a naked electrical source.
“Our preliminary investigations revealed that the man had stepped out in the morning to get petrol to treat bed bugs, and we suspect that in the process, it came into contact with a naked electrical source, which triggered the fire outbreak,” he said.
DOII Musah cautioned the public against the use of petrol and other hydrocarbon fuels in dealing with bed bug infestations, stressing that there are safer and more effective alternatives for pest control.
He further explained that the victims were trapped in the room and were unable to escape due to the structure of the building.
“What caused the entrapment was that the room was barricaded with burglar-proof bars, making it virtually impossible for them to escape. Both the front and back windows were secured in such a way that in case of emergency, there was no way out,” he explained.
He added that a gas cylinder in the room exploded due to the intensity of the fire, worsening the blaze, and burning the couple beyond recognition.
The Fire Commander has therefore appealed to landlords, homeowners and developers to ensure that residential buildings are designed with alternative escape routes to help prevent similar tragedies.
The mortal remains of the deceased have since been deposited at the Atua Government Hospital morgue for preservation and further investigations.
Source: GNA
