Late reporting, gas explosions hampered circle firefighting – GNFS

The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has revealed that late reporting, poor access routes, gas explosions, and illegal electrical connections significantly hampered efforts to swiftly contain the fire outbreak behind the VVIP Station at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra.
The fire, which broke out at about 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, destroyed more than 50 mobile phone shops, according to eyewitnesses and authorities. Although firefighters responded promptly after being alerted and eventually brought the blaze under control, several challenges complicated the operation.
Speaking on Breakfast Daily on Channel One TV on Friday, January 23, the Head of Public Affairs of the GNFS, DOII Desmond Ackah, said limited accessibility to the affected area was a major setback.
According to him, firefighters had to lay extended hose lines to reach the seat of the fire, a situation that required higher water pressure and resulted in significant water loss, making it difficult to contain the blaze quickly.
“We had a difficult time even gaining access to where the fire was actually raging. In professional firefighting, when you don’t have direct access, you have to lay more hoses to reach the source of the fire,” he said.
DOII Ackah explained that the presence of numerous gas cylinders and stoves within the shops further worsened the situation, as intermittent explosions intensified the fire.
“Too many gas cylinders and stoves that were found in that particular space. So at a point in time, intermittently, as the fire raged, you could hear some explosions here and there, and that also escalated the situation. When there is an explosion, the combustible gases are thrown far, and the unburnt gases are also ignited, spreading the fire. And in fighting such fires, it becomes very difficult to really contain them within a very small space,” he stated.
He also cited illegal and haphazard electrical connections as another major challenge, noting that the situation posed serious danger to firefighters.
“Another challenge that we had initially, when we got to the scene, was the haphazard connection of wires. It became apparent that about 10 shops could be connected to just a meter. And they were just connecting the wires anyhow. All they cared about was getting access to electricity, but how they get it with the quality cables or whatever, they don’t care, and how the wires are even connected, they don’t care about.
“Initially, it created some form of electrocution for our people until such a time we had to step in to isolate power from that area. And because the wires are coming from different sources, even if a particular phase of the electricity is isolated from a particular transformer, you may not be so certain because they could have tapped from a different transformer or a different source that could cause electricity flow through some of the cables. So it was dicey,” he indicated.
DOII Ackah further disclosed that the first and most critical challenge was the delayed call-up to the Fire Service, which allowed the fire to escalate before firefighters arrived.
“The first challenge was the late call-up. Anytime we have received late calls to emergencies, by the time we get there, things would have degenerated into what we don’t want to witness,” he added.
Citi News Room