A wildfire yesterday razed dozens of makeshift shops behind the Royal VIP bus terminal at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra.
But for the timely intervention of personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the inferno could have destroyed many more shops in the area, where phone accessories are predominantly sold.
At about 10:00 a.m., when The Ghanaian Times arrived at the scene, owners of nearby shops were seen desperately packing their wares as firefighters battled the raging blaze.
The Ghanaian Times observed that firefighters had difficulty accessing the fire, as fire tenders had to be parked metres away before extending their water hoses to the scene to prevent the flames from spreading to other facilities, including a GOIL filling station.
In some instances, firefighters had to break down a wall or use ladders to climb over shops in a bid to gain direct access to the fire.
One firefighter and another person assisting in battling the blaze passed out from suspected smoke inhalation.
Onlookers also hampered the work of firefighters, who had assistance from armed police officers to maintain law and order amid the chaos.
Some shoplifters who attempted to take advantage of the situation were apprehended.
Briefing the media after the fire was brought under control, the Public Relations Officer of the Fire Service, DOII Desmond Ackah, said that after receiving the distress call at about 10:07 a.m., the first fire tender, deployed from the Industrial Area Station, arrived at the scene five minutes later, by which time the fire had already reached an advanced stage.
He said that due to the rapid spread of the fire, five additional tenders and a water tanker were mobilised from nearby stations, leading to the successful dousing of the blaze.
The cause of the fire, DOII Ackah revealed, was not immediately known, but a full investigation would be conducted to establish the origin of the inferno.
He also appealed to the government to fulfil its commitment to retool the service, revealing that the Circle Station’s fire tender had broken down.
The Greater Accra Regional Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Dennis Nartey Adjannor, said plans were far advanced to decongest the area and restore it to the garden it was originally earmarked to be.
He indicated that the Regional Coordinating Council, in conjunction with NADMO, would take advantage of the unfortunate incident to take over the space, albeit with a human face, and restore it into a garden.
In the meantime, Mr Adjannor stated that NADMO would provide relief items to victims, including those who used the affected shops as their places of abode.
The Member of Parliament for Ayawaso Central, Rauf Tubazu, on his part, underlined that his office would engage traders along the entire Tip-Toe Lane to create access routes for firefighters, noting that two fires had already been recorded in the area this year.
BY JULIU YAO PETETSI & VICTOR A. BUXTON
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