On Tuesday, June 6, 2023, a fire broke out at the Bibiani College of Health and Allied Sciences in Anhwiaso, Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai municipality, Western North Region.
Two people were admitted at the Bibiani Government Hospital after the fire outbreak. Items worth thousands of cedis, including dormitories, were lost to the fire. A total of 186 students were affected by the inferno.
Speaking to Citi News, the Public Relations Officer for the Ghana National Fire Service in Bibiani, Raymond Appiah, narrated that the office received a distress call from the college reporting a fire outbreak around 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday.
He added that a team of fire personnel was dispatched to the fire scene and subsequently brought the fire under control from spreading to other areas.
“Our firemen responded to the call within one minute. We came and saw that the fire was well-established. Three dormitories were engulfed by the fire, but by God’s grace, we were able to combat and put it out,” he explained.
The Public Relations Officer for the Ghana National Fire Service advised the students to avoid the use of inferior electrical gadgets and called on school authorities to ensure the usage of approved electrical cables for wiring.
“We advise them to switch off their electrical appliances whenever they are leaving their rooms to town or work. They should use the correct cables for the correct job. We have been encountering a lot of fire outbreaks, and it’s due to inferior cables that they use. And at the same time too, some of the appliances are faulty. We advise them to either change it or send it for repairs,” he encouraged.
However, some of the affected students spoke to Citi News about the losses of their valuables appealed to authorities for support.
“As for our rooms, we didn’t get anything, not even a pesewa. Our learning materials, beds, and everything is burnt out. All we have now is the uniforms we are wearing plus the bags we took to class. As for me, I have been collecting contributions from students amounting to about GH¢15,000, but all is burnt.
“I couldn’t retrieve even a pesewa, all I have now is my uniform. We are appealing for help so that at least if not all, we can get some of the things we have lost,” one of the students appealed.
In an interview with the Municipal Chief Executive for Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai, Paul Andoh, he promised that the assembly will do its best to support the victims and the college at large.
“The assembly has consulted the principal of the school to look at those things. The assembly will plan on how they will get a place to sleep so that we can provide them with emergency needs. Like the mattresses that have burnt and other sophisticated things we think will be needed for their accommodation. So currently that is what we are taking into consideration,” MCE for Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai noted.
