North East Region: Fire guts Nobyah FM, halting operations

A major broadcast station in the North East Region, Nobyah FM, an affiliate of Citi FM, has been destroyed by fire, leaving its operations completely paralysed after a blaze swept through its premises in the early hours of Saturday.

According to the station’s manager, Yaw Boakye, the fire broke out at about 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 27, shortly after power was restored following an outage.

He said a technician on duty discovered the studio engulfed in thick smoke and flames immediately after electricity returned.

The technician rushed to the nearby Nalerigu Fire Service station, located about 100 metres from the station, to seek assistance in containing the blaze.

However, Mr. Boakye said firefighters arrived without a fire tender and were equipped only with a small fire extinguisher, which proved insufficient to contain the rapidly spreading fire.

The inferno completely destroyed the station’s studio, with no broadcasting equipment salvaged from the wreckage.

The cause of the fire is yet to be established.

Speaking on the News Digest on Citi FM, the General Manager of Nobyah FM, Mr Boakye, noted that due to the effect of the fire, no equipment was salvaged.

“We couldn’t pick even a computer out of the studio. That is really troubling,” he said.

He said that the preparations are underway to temporarily get the station to operate.  While at that, he appealed to the public and stakeholders to support management to bring the station back on air.

“The support that we need at this point is that, as I mentioned earlier, we have lost everything. We started with creating TV not too long ago, and we have lost everything.

“So if you want to help us, you are indeed welcome. Anything at all, a computer, whatever, that will help us to come back on air. We’ll be very grateful to you,” he said.

Nobyah FM has served as one of the leading broadcast stations in the North East Region, providing news, public education, and community information to thousands of residents.

The destruction of the station marks a significant setback for media operations in the region, as management begins efforts to recover from the loss while awaiting investigations into the cause of the fire.