By Juliet Mettle-Edmonds
It has been exactly six days since fire engulfed a three-storey building at Zongo Lane in Accra. When the News Team visited the site on Friday, September 6 Firefighters were still on the grounds, monitoring the situation as smoke emanated from the building.
Officers of the Ghana National Fire Service said they will remain vigilant to ensure potential flare-ups are promptly tackled.
The fire started on Sunday morning, September 1, at about 7am. Officers from the Ghana National Fire Service say the Chinese occupants initially attempted to control the blaze using fire extinguishers.
However, when the situation became unmanageable, they called the Ghana National Fire Service at about 10am. At the time of their arrival, the fire had spread to adjoining shops, producing thick smoke. In the course of dousing the blaze, there were explosions causing the fire to spread further.
At the scene on day six, the Greater Accra Regional Commander DCFO Roberta Aggrey Ghanson explained that their operations were initially hindered because there were no emergency lights in the building.
“It has not been easy for the firefighter; we have inhaled thick smoke, as the situation got worse, we have to adapt, the officers, therefore, adopted different approaches to douse the fire”.
“Initially, the Chinese pretended they did not understand English when we tried to find out what they operate in the building”.
The Acting Director of Operations ACFO 2 Kofi Forson, said they had to confine the fire to prevent it from spreading.
“6 days has not been easy for us, because the parts of the building were curving in, we were unable to enter initially because we did not want another disaster, we needed to protect our men”.
On Sunday when the fire started 75 firefighters with 10 fire appliances including a Turntable ladder were deployed. More officers were deployed to the scene due to the intensity of the fire. Currently, the fire is under control and the area has been condoned off. Shops within the vicinity have also been closed.
