The Ghana National petroleum corporation together with the Ghana fire service, NADMO, PDS and the Energy Commission in the Western Region have taken traders in the central business district of the Western Regional capital Takoradi into a day sensitization workshop on how to prevent and fight fire in case there is a fire outbreak.

The Takoradi market circle which is the largest market in a circle in West Africa was built over sixty years ago and has since not seen any major renovation making it prone to fire outbreaks considering the use of unproved cables, inappropriate wiring and connection on the part of some traders. 

Chief Executive Officer of GNPC Foundation Dr Dominic Eduah who spoke to JoyBusiness at the sideline of the workshop says market fires have become an annual ritual in Ghana and it is about time corporate institutions help people to understand the effect it has on properties and lives.

“You know this market holds about two thousand citizens of this country, so this tells you that if there is an unfortunate incident at this place it’s not going to be a good story for every Ghanaian so we decided to come in, in a form of preventive measure not to wait till it happens before we come and console them but to prevent it from happening.”

He added that they are very happy that the traders especially the women have gone through the training and they would proceed to other markets in the Region to educate and provide cylinders for the traders so they also benefit from the oil extraction.

Metro NADMO Director of the Sekondi –Takoradi metropolis, James Obeng said the gesture by GNPC foundation has come as a result of an assessment they did on the central business district.

“There is the need for safety to adhere so we as an organization even before GNPC came on board we have done an assessment on the market and have sent reports to all those who matter so far as the market is a concern.”

He also added that plans were far advance for Takoradi to get a new market considering the assessment they undertook and the life span of the materials used in building the market 

Public relations officer of the Ghana Fire Service in the Western Region Divisional officer grade 3 Ebo Bonney says his outfit intensified campaign on fire outbreaks and how to fight it.

The foundation donated nineteen new cylinders and refilled 11 old cylinders of the for Market circle.