The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ghana National Fire Service have shut down the Louis gas station at Labadi which was the scene of a gas explosion.
The explosion which occurred last Thursday has left 10 persons dead so far.
[contextly_sidebar id=”2XVhy2Kgsj9AkAsTeDepv55GUaGOgons”]The Deputy Public Relations Officer for the Ghana National Fire Service, Prince Billy Anaglatey, indicated that investigations were still ongoing though he noted that an assessment would be needed to settle on the definite cause of the fire.
“The investigation does not really settle on the cause of the fire but the other facilities that the regulators or the agencies that are responsible are examining to determine what might have happened prior to the fire.”
“For us to determine all this, the fuel station must be closed down to enable the regulators to have an adequate assessment of what exactly happened here,” Mr. Anaglate explained to Citi News
In the meantime, Mr. Anaglate said the Fire Service’s “preliminary investigations pointed to the fact that there was a leakage.”
The Labadi gas explosion has rekindled the debate around the location of fuel stations in residential areas, but the Fire Service has said enforcing safety measures will reduce the fire incidents.
Mr. Anaglate insisted that “it is not about the siting of the filling stations; it is about the lack of maintenance of safety measures put in place. If you are able to ensure that safety measures are put in place and are maintained, you have reduced the hazard associated to the barest minimum. So it is not about the siting.”
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana