Some angry residents at Konongo in the Asante Akyem Central Municipality attacked officers of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) after they allegedly arrived late to tackle a fire outbreak in the area.

Firefighters from the Konongo and Ejisu stations were deployed to the scene to contain the fire.

The incident occurred on Thursday, March 5, 2026, when residents accused the fire officers of delaying their response to the blaze, which destroyed several homes.

A resident who identified himself as Afful narrated how the incident occurred.

"I came home from work, and about 30 minutes later, my wife and I heard a loud explosion from the kitchen, which shook the whole house. Another tenant told us a gas cylinder had exploded. We tried to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher, but it was too intense."

He added, "I rushed to the nearby fire station to report it, but they told me their fire tender had broken down. I waited for about 10 minutes, but when I got back, the fire had destroyed 11 out of the 16 rooms on the compound."

Meanwhile, the Municipal Chief Executive for Asante Akyem Central, Ebenezer Ekow Aidoo, who visited the scene, explained that the fire service vehicle had broken down and the station lacked the equipment needed to fix it immediately.

"The delay was not intentional. The fire service vehicle broke down, and they don’t have the equipment to fix it immediately," he stated.

The MCE appealed to residents to remain calm during such incidents and allow firefighters to perform their duties, while assuring the community that steps would be taken to address the logistical challenges facing the fire service.

The Konongo-Odumasi Divisional Fire Commander, DO2 Joe Bryden, told Adom News:
"We responded as quickly as possible, but the Konongo fire tender is the only engine serving about four constituencies. This makes it very challenging to respond immediately to emergencies."

Fire officers at the scene also indicated that they had to call for support from another station to help control the blaze.