A fierce fire that gutted the Holy Ghost Sanctuary, a branch of the Victory Bible Church, and a two-storey building at Dome Pillar Two in the Ga East Municipality has reduced the church to a pile of rubble.<\/p>\n
While no one sustained injury in the blaze, it resulted in the loss of properties running into thousands of cedis.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”8t9GVZ6LKWD3BEevgVKl3NxIqFN6NWMa”]Apart from the damage to the church, the fire which started at 10 a.m. also caused extensive damage to 12 shops that were housed in the storey building.<\/p>\n
It took personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) almost two hours to bring the fire under control.<\/p>\n
According to an eyewitness account, the fire started after a generating set belonging to the church exploded as a result of flames from a pile of burning wood in a house close to the church.<\/p>\n
When the Daily Graphic visited the scene, the church building had been completely burnt to ashes.<\/p>\n
The premises were flooded with the water used to extinguish the fire. \u00a0Broken louvre blades and burnt items were scattered everywhere.<\/p>\n
The church\u2019s instruments and gadgets including drums, organs, sound systems and projectors were all consumed by the fire.<\/p>\n
Victims speak \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The Head Pastor of the church, Rev David Osei Quarshie, who arrived at the scene after he had received a distress call from a church member, explained that the church was celebrating its 30th anniversary with a three-day fasting which was to end today.<\/p>\n \u201cWith this situation we will not be able to meet here today, so we will have to meet at a church member\u2019s house,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n According to him, the church recently bought a new sound system at GH\u00a26,700, a projector and a plasma television, which had all been burnt.<\/p>\n A boutique owner whose items were completely burnt, said she had acquired a loan from the bank to purchase the items which were worth $10,000.<\/p>\n Two fire engines from \u00a0the Legon Fire Station and the Madina Fire Station were at the scene to put out the fire.<\/p>\n Cause of fire<\/strong><\/p>\n The Station Officer of the Legon Fire Station, Mr Ako Adjei, told the Daily Graphic that the service received an emergency call at about 10:20 a.m. and responded quickly by directing firemen to the scene to fight the fire.<\/p>\n According to him, the service would fully investigate the cause of the inferno after they had assessed the place.<\/p>\n No fire post The Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, Ms Adwoa Safo, who visited the fire scene to sympathise with the victims assured them of her support.<\/p>\n She said it was regrettable that there was no fire post in the area but said she was working towards establishing one in the area.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n