Preliminary investigations by the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) into yesterday’s fire incident near the Odaw drain and railway line, Circle indicate that it was caused by an unattended gas stove.
The fire, which broke out late Wednesday afternoon in an area known as ECOMOG, destroyed 300 of the 450 structures, with firemen managing to save 150 structures.
“Our team is currently at the scene to continue with investigations to ascertain the actual cause of the fire but preliminary investigations suggest that somebody was cooking and left the gas stove unattended to and that led to this fire,” the Deputy National Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the GNFS, Divisional Officer (DO III), Desmond Ackah, said.
The incident caused a power outage in Adabraka, New Town, and surrounding communities.
This marks the second fire in this area in two years, following a similar incident in February 2022 that led to an unsuccessful evacuation order.
Mr Ackah stated that the service received a distress call around 3:35 p.m. and quickly deployed fire engines, arriving at the scene at 5:43 p.m. By then, the fire was already out of control, necessitating the deployment of four additional fire engines.
“During the fire fighting, we received information that some people could not be accounted for and, therefore, we had to do a thorough search to ascertain that but as of this morning, we are getting reports that they have not been able to find one person so our team is on the ground to continue with thorough investigation,” he told
Despite these challenges, firemen were able to douse the fire around 10:57 p.m. the same night.
Although there were no casualties, one person remains unaccounted for.
The fire has displaced many people. Ackah urged authorities to assist the victims and consider relocating them to safer shelters. He also called for increased security in the area to prevent future incidents, noting that illegal activities and connections are prevalent.
Greater Accra Regional Minister Titus Glover has visited the site to assess the situation and issued a stern warning against rebuilding structures.
He stated that anyone attempting to rebuild would be arrested and assured that enforcement measures would be in place.
“We don’t want to have any third fire; therefore, they should prepare to leave. We will make sure we put men on the ground to ensure nobody lives here. Anyone who tries to rebuild a structure here will be arrested,” he cautioned.