A devastating fire tore through several wooden structures at Agbogbloshie in Accra late Sunday night [November 24], leaving destruction in its wake but fortunately sparing lives.
The inferno was reported to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) at exactly 9:38 pm, prompting an immediate response. Two fire tenders were dispatched from the Accra City and Circle Fire Stations.
The first team arrived at the scene within ten minutes, at 9:48 pm, but by that time, the fire had already spread uncontrollably, consuming multiple makeshift wooden structures.
Despite challenges such as difficult accessibility to the scene, the firefighters displayed remarkable resilience and contained the blaze by 12:54 am, and it was fully extinguished by 1:38 am, nearly four hours after the initial report.
Assistant Division Officer Alex King Nartey of the GNFS Public Affairs Department highlighted the hurdles the dispatched officers encountered in a Facebook livestream, stating, “Accessibility was a problem. Even to get to the scene was a very big problem for the team but we have managed to get the fire under control and it is difficult to go and replenish because accessibility to go and replenish and come back was a challenge for the officers.”
The fire destroyed numerous makeshift wooden structures, which served as both homes and businesses for many residents.
These structures, predominantly built with highly flammable materials, offered little resistance to the raging flames. The contents of the structures were also lost, further compounding the losses for affected individuals.
Source: Citinewsroom.com