The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has closed down the Trinity Gas Filling Station at Alajo in Accra.

The facility failed to meet safety standards when the GNFS carried out an inspection exercise at the facility on Friday, October 13.

“The whole place was in a mess, heaps of rubbish, refuse scattered all over the place. The time they were selling the gas, the nozzle was also leaking yet they were selling even when we were there meaning they did not know the danger and repercussion of the leakage on the nozzle that they were using,” Deputy Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Prince Billy Anaglate told Class FM’s Jonas Ofori Yeboah on Saturday, October 14.

He complained about crowding at the gas station because of a TV set which attracted lots of people to the gas station to watch football.

“Meanwhile, it is a requirement that all electrical gadgets within the area should be off before they sell gas,” he explained.

He said the personnel at the gas station could not produce a fire certificate upon request “and as at today (Saturday, October 14) that we are talking they have not yet produced the fire certificate”.

Mr Anaglate said the gas station will remain closed until they are able to produce the certificate which will be assessed by the Chief Fire Officer for its authenticity after which other examinations will be carried out before a decision is taken if the gas station should resume operations.

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) had to also shut down 21 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) stations across the country for failing to meet various safety standards following inspections on Thursday, 12 October.



CEO of the NPA, Alhassan Tampuli said on Friday, 13 October that: “Yesterday our inspection and monitoring team closed down 21 stations across the country, now that is just the number of stations that they monitored and today they will continue and hopefully continue next week”.

The clamp down on gas and fuel stations dovetailed into directives given to such effect by President Nana Akufo-Addo following a Cabinet meeting that same day.

The closure of the LPG stations follows a gas explosion at Atomic Junction near Madina in Accra last week Saturday which killed seven people and injured 132 others.