A fire broke out on Tuesday morning, August 27, damaging portions of the Job 600 building located near Parliament and State House.
Although no casualties were reported, the inferno destroyed parts of a storeroom on the building’s second floor.
Employees and workers were promptly evacuated to a safe area between the administration block and Job 600 while firefighters worked to extinguish the flames.
Despite the presence of a fire tender at Parliament, it was not immediately available during the incident. Led by ACFO 1 Roberta Agrey Ghanson, the Greater Accra Regional Commander of the Fire Service, personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service swiftly responded to the emergency.
By 9:45 a.m., firefighters managed to contain the fire, preventing its spread to unaffected areas of the building. It took three fire tenders and approximately an hour and a half for the firefighters to completely extinguish the fire, leading to the evacuation of the adjacent Parliament House.
ACFO 1 Roberta Agrey Ghanson stated in a brief interview that although the fire was under control, the building was not yet safe for occupation due to residual smoke, announcing an impending investigation into the cause of the incident.
A statement released by Parliament on Tuesday confirmed the incident but was unable to ascertain the fire’s origin immediately.
The statement expressed gratitude to the firefighters for their rapid response and underscored that there were no casualties, although the full extent of the damage was yet to be determined.
As a precautionary measure, the Clerk to Parliament, in consultation with Speaker Alban Bagbin, instructed all Members of Parliament and staff to evacuate the Parliament premises, with plans to resume activities on Wednesday, August 28, 2024.
The statement detailed that a reduced staff would remain on-site to address any urgent matters.