BNI begins investigations into Central Medical Store inferno

Source: myjoyonline.com -  Officials of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) have begun questioning workers at the Central Medical Stores in Tema, which was ravaged by fire on Tuesday...

The BNI officials will try to unravel the cause of the mysterious fire that burnt down the facility housing all of Ghana’s medical and related supplies.

An interim report by the Ghana National Fire Service states that there are contradictions in staff accounts of what caused the fire.

While some staff claim the fire started while expired drugs were being burnt, others gave a different account.

Although arson has been suspected, the fire report says there was poor fire safety and protection mechanism at the warehouse.

The report states that the medical store had no fire certificate.

The report also says the facility for more than two years had no functioning fire extinguishers although the attention of managers was drawn to the situation.

The fire that lasted for more than two days, destroyed a substantial part of the country's medical supplies, hospital beds and other equipment, with preliminary estimates pegged at more than GH¢237 million in losses.

Chairman of the Fire Service Council, Alhaji Amadu Sorogo, told Joy News on Thursday that basic fire safety regulations were not followed at the facility.

Efforts at putting out Tuesday's fire was hampered by the lack of water tankers and nose masks for fire personnel.

However, almost three days after the fire started, the Fire Service is hopeful it will be able to completely quench the fire on Friday.

The fire service will officially submit the interim report on the incident to Government today.