A Deputy Public Relations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has said firefighters had to travel to Farisco in search of water to douse the fire that ravaged the Kantamanto market.
The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in 2021, following a fire incident at Makola, disclosed there are about 70 hydrants out of which 11 are within the Accra Central Business District, hence, GNFS cannot make claims of lack of water in times of crisis.
Engineer Emmanuel Johnson, the Chief Manager in-charge of Accra East Region, who disclosed this in an interview with Adom News further accused GNFS of selling water from their hydrants meant for their jobs.
But DFO3 Desmond Ackah on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem said the hydrants within the central business district were non-functional on the day of the Kantamanto fire on Tuesday.
Eyewitnesses claimed efforts by the Fire Service to douse the fire did not yield the desired results as there was shortage of water in the process.
Mr Ackah stated the claims were not true as they did their best and mobilised nine fire tenders in their quest to quench the fire.
“Water could not pass through the hydrant because Ghana Water has made it clear they are rationing water and we had to redirect so we were shuffling between Farisco but if the hydrant was working, we could have just connected our holes,” he said.
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He added they also came across a warehouse which had been built on a hydrant, stating it will never be true they will go to a fire scene without water.