Recommendations of fire audits yet to be implemented

Deputy Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Prince Billy Anaglatey, has revealed fire audits at markets across the country have been completed, although recommendations are yet to be acted upon.

Mr Anaglatey said key findings in the report indicate that use of the markets as sleeping places, lack of security patrols, lack of routine fire checks and faulty electrical wires, were identified as key issues across most of the markets in the country.

The Fire Service must ensure that these issues are addressed by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and local Assemblies, but Mr Anaglatey could not say when the Service will ensure the key findings are acted upon.

He was, however, hopeful his outfit would do so soon.

Speaking on Joy FM's Super Morning Show on Thursday July 25, 2013, the PRO also revealed that preliminary investigations at the Madina market which was gutted earlier this year as well as the Mallam which suffered similar incident last year, show that a naked fire in an oven and a faulty electrical connection were the respective causes.

Investigations at the Makola No.1 and 2 markets and the Kantamanto market are still ongoing, he said. He did not indicate when the investigations would be completed.

On Wednesday, firemen were able to control a fire which gutted parts of the Pedestrian Shopping Mall at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra.

The fire, which started around 7:30 in the evening consumed ten shops, although eye witnesses feared more shops had been affected.

Although the cause of the fire is unknown, Mr Anaglatey said lack of access to the markets by fire tenders and unavailable fire hydrants delayed the fire fighting process.

The GNFS Deputy PRO called on the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to assist with efforts to end the devastating fires that have hit the country, especially markets, in the past few months.

He recommended the provision of containers stocked with fire fighting equipment to at markets across the country.

According to him these containers must be provided by the local Assemblies before they are stocked and manned by the Fire Service.