Ghanaians don’t understand our operations - Fire Service

The Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Fire Service, Ellis Okoe has expressed with concern the manner in which people criticize their work without having all the facts.

According to him, many people do not understand the work of the Ghana Fire Service and yet are quick to conclude that their work is shoddily done.

Mr. Ellis Okoe raised this concern during an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show while giving an update on the fire that engulfed Odawna market near the Kwame Nkrumah interchange.

“People do not understand our work. In a matter of eight minutes, the water in the tender can be finished in quenching the fire. When we got there, the fire was extensive, and even access to the place was a very big problem because the place was surrounded by containers that were not part of the plan of the market. We had to break the padlocks of the various containers. The same strength we are using to break padlocks is the same energy we are using to quench fires”, he said.

Furthering on the difficulty they encountered due to the scattered layout of containers at the market, Ellis disclosed that they had given recommendations to the Municipal Assembly on the containers that blocked access to the market in times of fire outbreak. He noted however that these recommendations were not adhered to by the Municipal Assembly.

The Odawna Market at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, also known as the Pedestrian Shopping Mall caught fire on the dawn of Wednesday, 18th November 2020.

Hundreds of stalls with thousands of Cedis worth of goods were lost in the fire.