Personnel of the Wa Municipal Office of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) narrowly escaped injury when a truck loaded with sawn lumber crashed into the fire station on Wednesday, February 12, 2025.

The incident occurred at a time when personnel from both the Municipal and the Regional Substation of GFNS were being briefed on a simulation exercise at the Wa Kejetia market scheduled for Thursday, February 13, 2025.

The officers had to run for their dear lives when the Benz truck with registration number GT8045C was reversing and ran into the structure where the fire engine was stationed.

The truck destroyed a lamp pole in front of the office and part of the frontage of the Municipal Fire Station, as well as part of a fire engine.

The Acting Municipal Fire Commander, Assistant Divisional Officer Grade 1 (ADOI) Imran Iddrisu, said he and his men were standing in front and saw the truck loaded with the sawn lumber, which was going to a nearby shop to offload the items.

However, he said the driver missed his road and was reversing to take the right road when he had a mechanical fault and was unable to apply the brakes, running into the lamp pole before destroying part of the crew room and standing in front of the fire engine, causing minor damage to it.

He said he and his men had to run for their lives when the truck was reversing towards them at top speed.

Luckily, he said all of them were able to run to safety, thus escaping unhurt.

The Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has since visited the accident scene where the Upper West Regional Fire Commander, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Isaac Kofi Obosu, reiterated the call for the relocation of the Municipal Fire Station.

Aside from the fact that the station was located in an old building, he said its location close to a roundabout constantly put the lives of the personnel in danger.

He said the station was not befitting the status of a municipality and that it was time it was moved to a permanent and more befitting structure.

He said the accident was a wake-up call for stakeholders to speed up the process of relocating the station from there.