Over 200 shops and makeshift structures at the Makola Shopping Mall in Accra were gutted by fire on Friday night, October 20, 2023.
The fire started at around 11pm and it took the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) four and half hours to bring it under control.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated. There were no casualties.
The Deputy Director, Operations of GNFS, Chief Fire Officer, Kofi Forson said that the fire personnel had a distress call around 11:24pm and due to the proximity of the fire station to the mall, personnel quickly arrived at the scene in less than two minutes. Nine fire fighting appliances and 70 fire personnel were used to put out the fire and they were able to save over 2,000 stores including makeshift structures.
The Greater Accra Regional Commander of the GNFS, Assistant Chief Fire Officer(ACFO I) Roberta Aggrey-Ghanson explained that the cause of the fire is under investigation and that the explosions heard during the outbreak were as a result of some cosmetic products that were exposed to excessive heat and burning during the fire.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive of AMA, Elizabeth K.T. Sackey visited the Mall to ascertain the extent of damage and said the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) would wait for a report from the GNFS to determine the next line of action.
The Mayor therefore appealed to traders to always take precautionary measures to prevent the occurrences of similar fire outbreaks in the future.
Despite causing damages to about 200 shops used for selling perfumes and wigs, the intensity of the fire caused marked cracks in the walls of some shops as well as some of them to collapse.
However, over 2,000 shops, the ECG substation, adjoining banks, and structures were salvaged from the fire thanks to the GNFS’s efforts.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. The GNFS is still investigating the cause of the fire.
According to a statement from the GNFS, “After receiving a distress call of a fire outbreak at Makola at 2324 hours, a dedicated crew from the Accra City Station proceeded to the scene and arrived in just two (2) minutes. Upon initial assessment, they realised that the fire was well alight and fast spreading and thus, called in 8 more additional fire tenders to augment their efforts.
Nine fire tenders in all were dispatched to the scene. The fierce fire was successfully confined at 0400 hours by the adept Firefighters thereby preventing any casualties in the process. About 200 shops used for selling perfumes and wigs were damaged. The intensity of the fire caused marked cracks in the walls of some shops forcing them to collapse in the process of intense firefighting.
Despite the fire damages, over two thousand shops, ECG Substation, adjoining banks and structures were salvaged from the fire which took Firefighters almost ten hours to finally extinguish. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.”
By Vincent Kubi