No Fire Hydrant @ Central Medical Stores

INFORMATION GATHERED by the DAILY HERITAGE indicates that there was no fire hydrant at the Central Medical Stores located at the Tema heavy industrial area. This defect was exposed when officials of the fire service were fighting what has become this month�s worst fire disaster and ran out of water in their tender while the inferno was blazing wildly. One of the requirements a facility needs to meet before a fire certificate is issued is the provision of a hydrant. Firefighters had to call in private water tanker operators to assist in supplying water to fight the raging flames. This is not the only inadequacy, but, the central medical stores which houses a chunk of the country�s medical supplies is not covered by insurance. The Central Medical Stores in Tema, a depot for medical supplies in Ghana was torched by fire at 9:30a.m.as a result of bush burning within the premises by a worker. Some members of staff were sighted racing up and down in an attempt to salvage documents and some other items. Other workers were reportedly seen with fire extinguishers and buckets of water in an attempt to fight the fire but to no avail. Speaking to a section of the media, the Tema Police Regional Commander, DCOP Vib Saaziri, said should the situation get out of hand, reinforcements would have to be called in from Accra. The Ghana National Fire Service is yet to ascertain the cause of the fire. The Central Medical Stores at the Tema Heavy Industrial Area is the main distribution outlet in the West African country. It also serves as a depot for World Health Organisation's supplies. As at the time of filing this report 15 fire tenders were stationed close to the facility trying effortlessly to douse the inferno. Fire engines from Tema Oil Refinery, Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority, and the Military were called in to assist in fighting the fire. Deputy Public Relations Officer of the Fire Service, Billy Anaglatey told a section of the media the harmattan made the fire difficult to fight. �It is going to take us 10 hours to effectively deal with it,� Mr Anaglatey predicted.