Two firefighters fell unconscious Sunday while trying to bring under control a fire at a power station at Winneba in the Central region.

Central Regional Fire Safety Officer Mark Awotwe Quaye said, “because we were not having the breathing apparatus which provides oxygen, two of my men who were fighting the fire collapsed after inhaling the toxic fume”.

The two men whose names was not readily available are currently responding to treatment.

A GRIDCO transformer at Winneba caught fire causing extensive damage to power generators at the station. It took fire fighters more than an hour to bring the fire under control.

The burnt power station has plunged a population of over 60,331 in darkness. The town and its environs are expected to be without electricity for a week.

Central Regional Minister, Thomas Aquinas Quansah told Joy News the situation is not one that can be addressed immediately. He is however hopeful that power will be restored in a couple of days.

“This is not something they can fix today but they have assured us that all hands are on deck to ensure that the situation is quickly dealt with. We hope that before the end of the week there should be a completion of all the repair works”.

He indicated that Winneba and its environs might get power earlier than Thursday but Swedru and Apam will have to wait a while longer.

He described the situation as a disaster but advised residents to keep calm and allow officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana to undertake the repair works.

The company’s District Manager at Winneba said Investigations are underway to establish the cause of the fire.