Suspect arrested over Accra timber market fire — GNFS

The Greater Accra Regional Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), ACFO II Rashid Kwame Nisawu, has confirmed that a suspect is in custody over the inferno that ravaged the Accra Timber Market in the early hours of Saturday, September 13.

Speaking on Channel One Newsroom, ACFO II Nisawu revealed that intelligence gathered during firefighting operations pointed to a man who allegedly ignited a rubbish fire and abandoned it, sparking the devastating blaze.

“Indeed through the firefighting, what normally we do is that during the firefighting we also deploy some plainclothed officers to fish out for information. And what we gathered was that, there is this gentleman who gathers some rubbish around and set it on fire, went to sleep and this thing degenerated and that is the result we are having,” he explained.

According to him, police moved quickly on the lead. “The good thing is that this morning, the Police Commander came to report to the Chief Fire Officer — I was around — that they have been able to apprehend the gentleman and currently, as we speak, the alleged suspect is now in police custody at James Town Police Station.”

The blaze, which broke out near Ayalolo School at 1:17 a.m., gutted several shops trading in wooden planks and hardware. Firefighters deployed seven engines from across the capital, supported by a GNFS water tanker and two additional tankers from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and Ablekuma Municipal Assembly.

Crews managed to contain the flames by 6:26 a.m., bring them under control by 6:37 a.m., and completely extinguish the fire by 11:44 a.m.

Two firefighters sustained injuries in the process — one from an electric shock and another with burns to the arm. Both have since been treated and discharged.

Despite the scale of destruction at the market, nearby properties, including the Ayalolo cluster of schools, were successfully protected from the flames.