The Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) will on Monday meet operators of all gas filling stations in Kumasi to ensure the proper installation of such facilities. The meeting has been necessitated by last Friday's gas explosion at the Engas Filling Station at Asokwa, a suburb of Kumasi that resulted in the massive destruction of property and injury to 131 people. According to the Daily Graphic, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Emmanuel Owusu Ansah, who made this known to journalists on Sunday, expressed shock at the devastation caused by the explosion and remarked, "I have never seen anything like this in my life." Thirty of the victims, including the caretaker and wife of the owner of the station, Patience Sampene, were on admission at the Intensive Care Unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) but doctors said they were in stable conditions. The rest were treated and discharged at the hospital. After touring the site of the blaze and the Intensive Care Unit of KATH on Saturday morning to witness the extent of damage to property and the degree of injuries to victims, REGSEC members, headed by Mr Owusu Ansah, moved into a crisis meeting where it was decided that there was the need to take action to prevent a recurrence of the incident. “We are inviting operators of all gas filling stations in Kumasi to a meeting on Monday to see the way forward with regard to their installations," Mr Owusu-Ansah told journalists. A number of people in Kumasi have expressed serious reservations about how permits are issued to people to operate gas filling stations in residential areas of the metropolis, with the Engas Filling Station as a typical example. Nana Fi-Bamoah II, Asokwahene of Kumasi, whose stool house was badly damaged by the blaze, told the Daily Graphic that when he ascended the stool about three years ago, he invited the owner of the station and advised him to relocate because the site was a threat to life and property and that he (Nana) was ready to offer him land to relocate, but he did not heed the suggestion. However, in a sharp rebuttal to the concerns of the residents, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asokwa, Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, whose tenure of office as Mayor of Kumasi witnessed the establishment of the Engas Filling Station, told the Daily Graphic that "the station was located in an industrial area and not a residential area and it was one of the best in terms of location in Kumasi". Experts say Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), which is a carbon structure, becomes even more volatile when it mixes with oxygen, as happened at Asokwa. The situation becomes even more dangerous when it gets close to fire. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained but some officials of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) traced it to the tanker whose engine was on while discharging the product. The Regional Minister, who was in Accra during the explosion, had to rush to Kumasi that night to ascertain the situation. Immediately the visibly shocked and shaken Regional Minister alighted from his car at the site about 8.00 a.m., accompanied by his deputy, Mr Ossei-Assibey Antwi, and the Metro Chief Executive, Ms Patricia Appiagyei, as he led the REGSEC team, he stood for a while and remarked, "I have never seen anything like this before. It is a sad day for us". He also tasked the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL) to get quantity surveyors to all the affected buildings to assess the damage to every single property to enable him to send a comprehensive report to the government for assistance. In addition, the GNFS, the Ghana Police Service, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and all other security agencies were to submit to the REGSEC detailed reports on the incident, including recommendations. More than 50 buildings were damaged, some very seriously. The Asokwahene, who was in the palace, had to rush out to a safe place while many other buildings were evacuated as the blaze spread through Asokwa. The Regional Minister commended doctors at KATH for the able manner in which they handled the situation. It was gathered that some doctors who were off duty were recalled to handle the crisis situation. The GNFS, NADMO, the police and the other security agencies also received full commendation from the Regional Minister for the marvelous work they did to save lives. Source: Daily Graphic