Ghana Fire personnel fights market fire in Togo

Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) at Denu, Keta, and Akatsi, mobilised early Saturday morning and entered Togo to help fight a ferocious fire that gutted a four-storey complex block of stores.

Mr Emmanuel Fordjour, Ketu-South District GNFS Officer told Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the distress call was received through the Ghana Police Service at Aflao at around 0300 hours.

He said 30 officers under the leadership of Mr Ben Ahiabli, Ketu-South District GNFS Operations Officer, arrived at the fire scene within an hour, after fluid mobilisation and scrambling for administrative clearance.

Mr Fordjour said the Ghanaian team arrived with three fire tenders to complement efforts of their Togolese counterparts to battle the fire for another six hours before bringing it under total control.

The affected building is one of the blocks making up the sprawling Lome Market Complex (Asigame).

Mr Fordjour said the Ghanaian team was cheered by onlookers as it arrived and went into action, receiving praises for its early response and skills.

He said the GNFS would help its Togolese counterpart organisation, in its post fire evaluation.

Mr Fordjour said cost of goods and property lost could not be immediately estimated but likely to be colossal.

Meanwhile reports indicate that hoodlums took advantage of the confusion as the fire raged to loot shops.

Other store owners fearing the looting could spread refused to open their shops thereby slowing down business activity. Saturday morning.

Source: GNA