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The EV Oil Company Limited at Nungua has been asked to halt its operations due to the lack of a fire safety certificate.

Until the fuel station is able to produce a fire safety certificate and other relevant documents which will legitimise its operation, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) said it would not allow it to function.

According to the fire service, the company had been given prior notice to produce the certificate when it visited its premises last week, but had failed to do so.

Fire service assessment exercise

This was part of actions taken when a team of fire service personnel, led by the Deputy Chief Fire Officer and Director of Fire Safety, Mr Michael Yarquah, embarked on a fire safety assessment at fuel stations, commercial buildings and other properties yesterday.

The companies visited included the Teshie and La Total and Fraga Oil Filing Stations and the Next Door Beach Resort, also at Teshie.
At such stations, personnel looked out for adequate fire safety facilities such as fire extinguishers and hose rails, early detecting and warning signs equipment, clean and conducive environment and trained staff.

At some stations, there was leaked fuel collected around their intake valves underground and generating plants and untidy environment, while at the Next Door Beach Resort, the team found faulty and expired fire extinguishers as well as electrical wires.

Other challenges

Briefing the media at the end of the tour, Mr Yarquah complained about the congestion at the Fraga Oil Filing Station at La.

Since the taxi drivers had made the station their parking lot to load and unload passengers, he expressed fear about the fact that if nothing was done immediately and a disaster occurred, the consequence could be dire.

He, therefore, instructed the company to ensure that it evacuated the drivers within two weeks, “since we’ll be coming back again to check on that after the deadline.”

He expressed satisfaction with the general safety measures put in place at some of the stations visited. He, however, added that they still needed to do more to meet the general fire safety standards.

“It is unfortunate that fuel stations usually put in place the necessary security arrangement on their premises, but fail to ensure fire safety measures at their stations,” he stressed.

He also commended the La Town Total Fuel station for putting the necessary fire safety measures in place.

Mr Yarquah hinted that the GNFS would not relax until it was satisfied that all buildings in the country had the necessary fire safety measures put in place.