Buipe Outrage: Faulty Fire Tender Forces Firefighters to Watch Fuel Station Inferno Ravage Property
Residents of Buipe Yepala in Ghana’s Central Gonja District, Savannah Region, erupted in fury on October 6, 2025, after the district’s sole fire tender—out of service for over a year—left firefighters powerless to combat a massive blaze at the SO Filling Station, destroying a fuel tanker and thousands of cedis in property.
The explosion ignited around midday on October 6 when a private fuel dealer pried open a pressurized drum, sparking vapors that rapidly engulfed the yard, including the tanker.
Buipe District Fire Command officers arrived promptly but could only contain the perimeter using buckets and improvised methods, as the broken tender—a chronic issue despite repeated complaints—prevented effective response.
“We have been complaining for months, but nothing has been done. Now look at what has happened,” a distraught resident told reporters, voicing the community’s helplessness.
Miraculously, no casualties were reported, but the inferno’s scale—fueled by stored drums—highlighted the risks in a remote area reliant on the station for essential supplies.
This incident echoes past Buipe crises, like the 2020 Buipe SHS fire where a faulty tender delayed aid, forcing reliance on borrowed tankers from BOST and Savanna Cement.
Broader patterns of fire service underfunding plague Ghana, with 2017 explosions at Atomic Junction and gas depots claiming lives due to similar equipment failures.
Local leaders and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) are investigating, with calls intensifying for urgent tender repairs or replacements amid Savannah Region’s rising fire incidents from dry harmattan winds and industrial hazards. The community demands accountability, warning that neglect could turn minor sparks into catastrophes.
