A fire has destroyed part of the family house of the late Mohammed Murtala, one of the eight victims of the August 6, 2025 military helicopter crash, at Tamale in the Northern Region.
Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) responded to the incident and successfully brought the blaze under control after deploying multiple fire crews to the scene.
The Northern Regional Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Assistant Divisional Officer I (ADO I) Hudu Baba, said firefighters from the Tamale Teaching Hospital Fire Station were initially dispatched after receiving reports of the fire.
“We had a report of a fire outbreak involving a compound house in this area.
When the crew arrived, they realised that almost the entire house was engulfed in flames, and due to the intensity of the fire, reinforcement had to be called in,” he said.
According to ADO I Baba, a second crew from the Tamale Regional Headquarters Substation joined the operation to contain the fire.
He disclosed that the compound house has 17 rooms, of which nine were affected by the fire, while firefighters managed to save the remaining eight rooms.
The incident also highlighted the operational challenges facing the Fire Service, with ADO I Baba appealing for public support to replace ageing firefighting equipment.
He said some of the fire tenders currently in use are about 40 years old and have limited water-carrying capacity, making firefighting operations more difficult.
“The vehicle has a capacity of only 500 litres, which can be exhausted within two minutes.
As a result, our fire tenders had to leave the scene to replenish water before continuing the operation,” he explained.
He added that the situation is worsened by the shortage of functional fire hydrants and water supply challenges, urging well-meaning individuals and organisations to support the Ghana National Fire Service with modern equipment and logistics.
The late Mohammed Murtala, a former Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, died alongside seven other senior government officials and military personnel in the August 6, 2025 helicopter crash in the Adansi area of the Ashanti Region.
The latest incident occurred almost exactly one year after the tragedy, with residents describing the fire as another painful ordeal for the bereaved family.
No casualties were reported in the fire, and the cause of the outbreak is yet to be established.
