Assistant Chief Fire Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, Timothy Osafo Affum has expressed shock at the magnitude of the recent fire that gutted the Kejietia Market in the Ashanti Region.
According to him, the necessary security protocols were put in place in the newly constructed market. However, most traders had violated the policies and arrangements proposed after the facility was approved to start business.
“We were surprised at the magnitude of the outbreak especially since it was a modern facility where some things would have been put into order.”
In an interview on Happy 98.9 FM’s “Epa Hoa Daben” socio-political talk show with Sefah Danquah, he indicated that reports on faulty fire detectors in the facility are not factual.
He disclosed that after the fire was put out, the smoke detectors were still sounding alarms. He added that the GNFS is not sure about the complaints and what people are talking about, but their investigations are ongoing.
“Our observations indicated that people there at the time tried to put out the fire but it got out of control before they decided to sound the alarm for others to move out,” he said.
He revealed that the GNFS is currently searching for the shop owner where the fire started from, and they will move steadily from there. He urged the public to exercise caution and follow the necessary safety protocols to prevent such incidents in the future.
The Kejetia market fire outbreak occurred on Wednesday, March 15 2023, and destroyed several shops and goods worth millions of Ghana cedis. The fire service managed to bring the fire under control after several hours of battling it. No casualties were recorded.
