The Ghana National Fire Service says the failure of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to supply them with water on time to battle the fire that gutted a three-storey building at the Makola Market in Accra accounted for the extent of destruction recorded on Monday, July 5, 2021.
The Fire Service spent over five hours battling the flames because fire tenders had to go as far as Achimota, Circle or Kaneshie to access water.
According to the Service, although there is an existing arrangement for the Ghana Water Company to supply water through fire hydrants in the central business district in cases of emergencies, the latter failed to do so even after several calls to them.
Speaking to the press, the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, Ellis Robinson Okoe, blamed the Ghana Water Company Limited as well as the Electricity Company of Ghana for their unresponsiveness.
โWe had the first call at 9:41 am [on Monday], however, because of the situation on the ground, we needed additional pumps. It is not to say that the Fire Service went to the grounds without any water. For security purposes, we always rely on ECG to disconnect the power in the area to make sure the responders are safe. It is not to say that they [our team] never went, and they were scared. Rather, we saw the need for them to have more backup so that they can storm the building.โ
โOf all the responders, the Ghana National Fire Service was the only fire agency that stormed the building. We had to call for extra pumps. I was very much disappointed because we had an arrangement with Ghana Water Company Limited contractors to supply us with water, unfortunately, they did not come, and the message I had from my operations officer was that the last time they [GWCL] were given coupons instead of cash.โ
โIf you never complained about receiving coupons instead of cash at that time, but decided to keep quiet until another outbreak of fire to disappoint the Fire Service, itโs quite unfortunate. We had to bring extra resources. The army and police came for protection purposes, Aviation was about to come, but I stopped them because I thought the fire was under control.โ
The three-storey building hosted shops occupied by traders who sell hair and cosmetic products.
Some traders whose products were destroyed in Mondayโs fire outbreak accused the Fire Service of negligence.
According to them, the situation would not have worsened if the Service had been timely and responsible enough.
Eyewitnesses said officials of the Fire Service station, just 300metres away from the incident, walked on foot to the scene of the fire only to tell them that there was no water to quench the fire.
The Service is also reported to have said that the fire tenders did not have fuel to move to the scene.
The Chief Fire Officer of the Service, however, denies the claims that the Service has not been proactive.