- At the Makola Shopping Mall in Accra, a fire destroyed more than 200 temporary structures and shops, forcing authorities to temporarily close the mall in order to further analyze the situation.
- On Friday, October 20, 2023, around 11:00 p.m., the fire began. It was put out by members of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) after four and a half hours. However, it is still unclear what caused the fire, and the GNFS says it is still looking into the matter.
- Wigs, perfumes, cosmetics, jewelry, and other goods worth thousands of Ghana cedis were among the items burned. There weren’t any losses.
- The Deputy Director, Operations of GNFS, Chief Fire Officer, Kofi Forson, briefed the media on the incident and explained that around 11:24 p.m. on Friday, fire personnel received a distress call. Because there was a fire station nearby the mall, fire personnel arrived on the scene to control the situation in less than two minutes.
- He claimed that because the fire was so severe, they also requested additional support and firefighting tools.
- “In all nine fire fighting appliances were used with 70 fire personnel trying to bring the fire under control; they forced open the padlocks locking the main entrance to the Mall, using special equipment and got access to the spot where the incident occurred” he stated.
- Mr. Forson emphasized that over 2,000 stores, including temporary buildings, were saved by the staff and emphasized that a sub-station of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), which was located ten meters from the mall, was spared damage from the fire as a result of the staff’s quick action.
- The cause of the fire is being investigated, according to the Greater Accra Regional Commander of the GNFS, Assistant Chief Fire Officer(ACFO I) Roberta Aggrey-Ghanson. According to her, several cosmetic products that were exposed to too much heat and burned during the fire were to blame for the explosions that were heard during the fire’s onset.
- Eye witnesses emphasized the need for long-term solutions to fire outbreaks, including addressing the location of temporary structures to provide easy access to stores in case of disasters, while some traders were counting their losses.
Source:
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