Assistant Divisional Officer One (ADO I) Ruth Mensah-Tandoh, the Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani.

She said three persons lost their lives and three others also sustained various degrees of injuries, adding that total cost of damage in monetary terms was GHC5,472,541.00.

ADO I Mensah-Tandoh said bush fires had the highest cases of 208; domestic, 205; vehicle, 59; commercial, 39; industrial, 17; institution, 17; and electrical, 14.

She said the region within the first month of the year (2019) has had about 40 fire incidents with bush and domestic fires still leading.

ADO I Mensah-Tandoh advised the populace to be cautious and abstain from setting fire indiscriminately because with the severity of the dry season, fire outbreaks, especially bush fire could occur at the least contact with fire.

She urged parents to put away lighters from the reach of their children to prevent them from setting up fires in their absence.

ADO I Mensah-Tandoh urged the public not to overload their power extension boards or leave their bulbs and other electrical gadgets on to be overheated because that could also cause fire outbreaks.

She advised that electric cables that are seen melting must also be changed immediately to protect lives and properties.

ADO I Mensah-Tandoh also urged users of liquefied petroleum gas cylinders, particularly in the homes to check leakages of their cylinders and desist from piling up stones on top of the cylinders to prevent explosions.