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Painstaking investigations conducted by Today have revealed that thousands of lives and properties in the country�s major city are under threat, following the siting of fuel and gas stations near homes. Several homes and residential lands have been converted into petrol and gas stations. The development is causing many to live in fear. And if action-oriented measures and programmes are not taken by city authorities to stop the massive abuse of laid down rules and regulations in the construction of gas and fuel stations, the consequences will be disastrous for the country. Checks by Today revealed that some of the gas and fuel stations which are owned by the central government and individuals are sited as close as five meters away from homes and businesses. That, Today established, is contrary to the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) rules and regulations which stipulate that gas and fuel stations should be situated at a minimum of 30.8 meters (100ft) from residential areas. The situation has arisen as a result of the constant neglect by city authorities who have persistently turned a deaf ear to this looming danger. At Teshie-Nugua, our investigations team spotted twelve fuel and nine gas stations situated close to residences, restaurants, super markets and churches. Fuel and gas stations also situated at the Osu Police Station, Osu-Kajaano and Addy junction between Odorkor to Kwashieman, stretch right in front of houses, businesses and churches. In addition, a fuel station built opposite the Odorkor Lorry station on the Kaneshie-Mallam road is very close to houses and shopping centers with another one at Jar Love Hotel near Kwashieman situated close to a drinking spot. The Greater Accra is not the only region which has fallen foul of the law as in Kumasi, specifically the KNUST junction and Asafo, there are about eight fuel stations which are all located close to houses and businesses. In contrast to Today�s findings, the NPA documents state that: �stations will not be allowed in any area where the traffic situation is such that it will cause obstruction when entering or leaving a station.� Another guideline in the document is that petrol pumps shall be located at a minimum of 30.8 meters/100ft from any residential building; where the site adjoins the side or rear boundary of a residential lot, a solid wall of 10ft in height should be constructed and maintained along a boundary,� the document stated. An official of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who spoke to Today on condition of anonymity stated that EPA gives permit for the construction of filling stations after it has conducted an environmental analysis of the area. He said the analysis is to ascertain if the soil and environment for the construction is suitable to have a fuel tank underneath and whether it would not pose any danger to inhabitants around the area. A top official of the Accra Regional Directorate of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) told Today that the TCP serves as physical planning department, process the applications by various oil marketing companies, adding that this is done before a technical sub-committee meets to evaluate the application, visits the site and makes recommendations to the Statutory Planning Committee (SPC). And these SPC are the Metropolitan, Municipal District Assemblies MMDAs which also include the Mayor of Accra, EPA, Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS,) engineers and other agencies. Officials of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) told Today that permits are not given to build fuel or gas stations in areas that could affect people. They said it is illegal for anybody to construct a fuel station without a permit, adding that the AMA in some instances had stopped people from building fuel stations in residential areas. An official of the Ghana National Fire Service who spoke to Today on strict condition of anonymity also said, according to the LI1724 Fire Precaution Premises Regulation of 2003, the fire service is legally mandated to check the location of such business before its construction.