On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, around 5 a.m., a power pole overloaded with transformers caught fire on Owula Mampong Street in Accra Newtown, near the Zen filling station.
Thick smoke rose into the air, alarming residents as flames erupted from the pole.
Eyewitnesses said the fire started in the transformers, rapidly drawing the attention of nearby residents. The blaze lasted approximately 45 minutes, prompting locals to evacuate and call emergency services.
Residents report this isn’t the first incident involving this particular pole. According to them, it has caught fire twice before, heightening concerns over the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) inaction to resolve the issue.
The fire is suspected to have been caused by an overload on the transformers clustered on a single pole.
“I was relaxing after my morning meditation when I heard sparks. I rushed out and saw the pole on fire. I immediately woke my neighbors to evacuate,” one resident shared.
“We tried contacting the hostel manager without success. The pole is right in front of our building, and there’s no secondary exit. We called the fire service, but due to delays, some residents went directly to the fire station for help. Fortunately, a Good Samaritan with a fire extinguisher managed to control the flames before the fire service arrived,” he added.
“The hostel where we live doesn’t have a fire extinguisher, and the pole is dangerously close to our gate, which lacks a second exit. We had to run for our lives. It took about 30 to 45 minutes before anyone was able to extinguish the fire,” another resident described the terrifying ordeal.
Residents are urging ECG to take swift action by redistributing the transformers to prevent future incidents and ensure the safety of the community.
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