The Greater Accra Regional Fire Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service, ACFO II Rashid Kwame Nisawu, has confirmed that a gas cylinder explosion was the cause of Sunday’s devastating fire outbreak at Madina’s Ritz Junction, near the Redco down washing bay area.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Monday, August 4, ACFO II Nisawu detailed how the incident unfolded around 12:36 p.m.

He explained that due to the proximity of the fire scene to the Madina Fire Station, personnel were quickly alerted when affected residents rushed in to report the blaze.

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“They saw that people ran to the station that there was an outbreak of fire at Redco down washing bay. And in fact, when they got there, they realized that the fire had already started, because these structures are wooden structures, and the first thing that happened was an explosion,” he said.

“So it gave way for a lot of spread. So quickly, they had to call for assistance.”

When asked what triggered the explosion, he confirmed, “It was a gas cylinder that caused the explosion. So because of that, the spread was very rapid.”

Given the scale of the fire, ACFO II Nisawu stated that the Madina Fire Station requested for backup.

“Madina called for reinforcement, augmentation, and then Legon responded, Abelemkpe responded, National Headquarters responded, the rapid intervention vehicle,” he added.

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“So in all, we marshalled about six fire tenders just for the Madina fire.”

Despite the swift response, ACFO II Nisawu admitted that firefighting efforts were hampered by a lack of water in the area.

“There was no water around Redco and its environs. The taps were not flowing. These hydrants are mounted on the water mains, so if the pipe taps are not flowing, then that means you cannot access water from the hydrants,” he explained.

“Some [fire tenders] came to Abelemkpe, some went beyond Legon in search of water... even some came to the National headquarters to look for water to extinguish the fire.”