Fire Service Warns Ghanaians To Stop Building Structures On Fire Hydrants
The Ghana National Fire Service is warning individuals to stop mounting structures on fire hydrants.
Their caution follows the fire that destroyed several stores at Opera Square in the Central Business District of Accra last Thursday.
According to the Fire Service, they have noticed many fire hydrants points across the city which are in the Central Business District, but private individuals have built structures on them while some have been covered with rubbish.
They said the situation hinders their efforts to immediately stop fires when they arise.
The fire hydrant is fixed around a public place with a tube in which a fire pipe is connected to the water for use in case of firefighting emergencies.
In an interview with an officer with the Public Affairs Department of the Ghana National Fire Service, ADO2 Alex King Nartey, inform Accra base radio that the blockage of the fire hydrants is one of the crucial challenges in battling fires outbreak in the country.
He added, “their hydrants are the simplest way to quench fires. In markets like this Central Business District (CBD), people build their shops on hydrants. People block these hydrants. And they have them, but often they are not flowing, and people have their shops already on them. Sometimes there is rubbish in them, so they call on people to stop such habits so that when there is a fire they can better serve them professionally.”
The Fire destroyed items such as bags, shoes, a wholesale shop, MOOVED Home Appliances at Opera Square, and burnt into ashes.
