Residents flee as Kpone landfill flames

Residents living near the Kpone landfill site in the Kpone Katamanso Municipality of the Greater Accra Region have deserted their homes due to unbearable smoke bellowing from the landfill site due to fire.

The cause of the fire, was supposedly triggered by an unknown person who lit a cigarette and dropped it at the dump site setting it in flames.

Personnel from the Tema Fire Service have since last night  been struggling to douse the flames, despite having deployed six fire tenders.

Speaking to journalists, the Tema Deputy Fire Commander, DOI Timothy Osafo Affum, said a lot more efforts are required to put out the fire completely.

“We have pooled all resources together to fight the fire but the intensity of this flame will take weeks to put out.”

He disclosed that they will allow the fire to burn out by itself because they do not have enough water in their hydrants.

“We have advised people who live around here to relocate or look for another place to lodge because the smoke emanating from the dump site is poisonous until we put [it] out,” Timothy Osafo Affum said.

He further stated that they have called for police assistance to help direct vehicles to avoid any accident.