The Greater Accra Regional Fire Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), ACFO II Rashid Kwame Nisawu, has confirmed that a gas cylinder explosion was the cause of Sunday’s devastating fire at Madina’s Ritz Junction, near the Redco down washing bay.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Monday, August 4, ACFO II Nisawu explained that the incident occurred around 12:36 p.m. and was reported swiftly due to the proximity of the scene to the Madina Fire Station.
“They saw that people ran to the station saying there was an outbreak of fire at the Redco down washing bay. And in fact, when they got there, they realized the fire had already started. These structures are wooden, and the first thing that happened was an explosion,” he said.
He confirmed that the explosion originated from a gas cylinder, which contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.
“It was a gas cylinder that caused the explosion. So because of that, the spread was very rapid,” he stated.
Due to the scale of the blaze, the Madina Fire Station requested immediate reinforcements.
“Madina called for reinforcement, augmentation, and then Legon responded, Abelemkpe responded, National Headquarters responded, including the rapid intervention vehicle,” he noted.
“In all, we marshalled about six fire tenders just for the Madina fire.”
However, firefighting efforts were hindered by a lack of water in the vicinity.
“There was no water around Redco and its environs. The taps were not flowing. These hydrants are mounted on the water mains, so if the pipe taps are not flowing, then that means you cannot access water from the hydrants,” he explained.
“Some [fire tenders] went to Abelemkpe, others beyond Legon, and even some to the National Headquarters to fetch water to fight the fire,” ACFO II Nisawu added.
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