A Police Patrol team on Thursday took over the role of the Ghana National Fire Service to douse a fire that gutted about six stores at the SCC Junction, off the Old Barrier-Kasoa road.
Residents and shop attendants had placed a distress call to the Ghana National Fire Service but the officers in brown uniform were not forthcoming as their fire engine had reportedly broken down.
It took the intervention of the Police Visibility Patrol team stationed at SCC and West Hills Mall to go to the rescue of the store operators and further prevent the fire from spreading to other shops and nearby houses.
The Police team made up of five men and led by DCOP Akuriba Yaagie secured the accident scene and quickly mobilised the residents to quench the fire that started at about 12:08 pm.
The team were later on joined by three other police men making the number eight.
Kasapafmonline.com understands the fire post stationed at SCC had no fire tender and had to call their counterparts from Dansoman to come to the rescue of the residents and shop attendants.
The fire service team from Dansoman arrived at the scene at about 12:50 but encountered fierce resistance from the residents and fire attendants from going ahead to quench the fire which had already been brought under control by the Police Visibility team.
The residents and shop attendants were seen launching verbal assaults Fire officers for “sleeping on their job”.
Some of them were seen pushing the fire service men to move away from the fire scene. It took the intervention of the Police Visibility team to calm nerves for the men in brown uniform to take over.
About six shops made of a saloon and provision shops were gutted by the fire.
