Fire Service closes hotels, guesthouse

Accra, Aug. 26, GNA - The Ghana National Fire Service together with the Ghana Police Service on Tuesday closed down six hotels and a guest house in Accra for not obtaining fire certificates.

Some of the hotels are Beach Dive Hotel, New Vision Hotel, AAT Hotel and Marvellous Guest House, all located at Weija. The rest are Homey's Palace, Siesta Lodge and Atomic Hotel, all situated at Dansoman. Mr J. Y. Torsu, Greater Accra Regional Fire Commander, said it was against the law for any premise used for public activities without attaining a certified fire certificate.

He stressed that the law being enforced had been in existence since 2003 and the owners of the affected hotels and guesthouses had been served two letters each to remind them of the need to obtain their fire certificates.

The Accra Regional Fire Service on Monday embarked on the first enforcement exercise since the coming into force of the Fire Precaution Regulation in 2003 to demand for fire certificates and apply sanctions on owners whose premises have failed to comply.

The regulation requires owners of premises for public use such as accommodation, entertainment, work, healthcare, education or research to obtain a fire certificate, as a precautionary measure.

The certificate is subject to renewal every 12 months, attracting a fee of at least one Ghana cedis depending on the size of the premises. The Fire Service expressed the hope that the ongoing exercise would ensure more compliance to help reduce fire outbreaks. Ghana records about 2,000 fire outbreaks every year, leading to the loss of lives and damage of properties worth million of Ghana cedis.