About 50 shops have been vandalised in the fire outbreak that occurred on January 7, 2024, around 9:30 pm, leaving at least fifty (50) shops destroyed.
As reported by citinewsroom.com, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana National Fire Service, Alex Nartey, stated that there is an ongoing investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire.
“There was a lot of obstruction. Lack of accessibility was a big challenge for our work. Our appliance couldn’t even get through where the actual fire was. We had to park somewhere quite far from the fire scene and then drag our hoses all the way through to the fire scene, so it was quite a challenge for us. But from 9:30 to 3:30, we were able to extinguish the fire to prevent any casualties,” he added.
Despite the crowded conditions in the market, they successfully extinguished the fire.
Alex Nartey revealed, “As it stands now, we recorded 50 losses with the shops and other stores that were there, but we were able to salvage items worth over $500 from being affected by the fire.”
He emphasised the need for the government and authorities in the Dome and its environs to ensure there is a fire station for faster response during outbreaks.
“This is a call to the assemblies there to prioritize fire safety because the unfortunate thing is that there is not a single fire station in this area; Dome and Taifa area. If the assembly or the government had set up a fire station there and we had taken personnel there and appliances, I’m sure our response would have been shorter to avert this kind of loss.”