Fire destroys several rooms at Accra Newtown

 

A fire broke out in Accra Newtown, near the Mallam Atta Market, destroying at least 10 rooms.

The event, which reportedly began around midday on Tuesday, March 5, has left scores of people homeless.

A member of the Ghana National Fire Service Headquarters' Public Relations Department told Citi News that the Service is still investigating the exact cause of the tragedy.

However, he stated that power was still flowing across the scene, making the situation worse for firemen.

He explained that they had to rely on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to turn off power in the vicinity due to the discovery of exposed wires.

He regarded the situation as life-threatening if ECG had not acted.

“Our fire control received a call about a fire within this area, so quickly our station at the national headquarters was dispatched there. Upon arrival, they realized that accessibility was a problem, which made firefighting a bit difficult. So they called for extra reinforcement from our stations in Abelemkpe, Flagstaff House, and headquarters…efforts.”

“The problem was that there was still electricity passing through the area, making firefighting difficult. And with a place like this, we realized that the wiring, they could even see naked wire passing through, so if our men had made a mistake by applying water on these naked wires, it could have been life-threatening. So we had to rely on ECG to cut power supply to the area.”

He explained that if the Assembly had such resources, their group would not have appealed for assistance from afar, escalating the issue.

He took use of the opportunity to urge Assembly members to prioritize Fire Service Stations in order to avoid similar incidents in the future.