THIS CULTURE IS WORRYING (OCTOBER 2, 2008)

AFTER the recent fire outbreaks at the Kantamanto and the Kokomba markets, discussions on how best to avert such outbreaks have again emerged.
There is very little to dispute that as a country we have traversed this course before where recommendations have been made to forestall future recurrence after fire outbreaks. But usually such recommendations produce the same pointers.
Just after the Makola fire outbreak in 1993, the government decided to investigate it to find the cause(s).
Strikingly, as we brood over the latest misfortunes at Kantamanto and Kokomba, the Public Relations Officer of the Tema branch of the Ghana National Fire Service, Mr Prince Anaglate, has taken us way back to that 1993 experience and has called for the implementation of the Makola Market Report.
It is interesting to note how fast time flies and memory fades into oblivion. The abandoned Makola Market Report of 1993 again highlights the extent to which we cry after disasters and then after a few weeks jump with joy as we go about business as usual in our markets with reckless abandon.
The causes of fire outbreaks in our markets are well known but somehow there is always the tendency to ignore the real issues and play down the threat until another disaster strikes.
As Mr Anaglate pointed out, the Makola Investigative Report of 1993 directed metropolitan, municipal and district authorities to provide firefighting equipment, including early fire detection and warning systems, fire extinguishers, hose reels and landing valves, to help detect and facilitate the initial fighting of fire when there was an outbreak.
The report also recommended the construction of fire posts in our markets or the provision of fire wardens to provide 24-hour service at the commercial centres to serve as a first line of defence in case of a fire outbreak.
Additionally, the markets were required to have adequate exit points to ensure smooth evacuation and accessibility by emergency workers.
After the Kantamanto fire outbreak, there was the general recognition that exit and entry points to the market for vehicle had been blocked by the traders.
It is very evident that while these recommendations had been made more than a decade ago and were supposed to serve as guides to avoid future fire outbreaks, they had simply been ignored.
Keeping exit and entry points to markets free of any impediments is so basic one cannot help but wonder why such a simple safety precaution cannot be observed in our country.
It is, therefore, worrying that even at the expense of human lives and property traders can act in such a manner that raises serious questions about our commitment to the protection of life and property at the markets.
For instance, at the Koforidua Market, space reserved for entry and exiting has been taken over by the traders, who appear more to have placed monetary interest above human life and property.
It is important for our traders to bear in mind that these little things that we tend to neglect are those that matter most.
On the provision of fire extinguishers, the DAILY GRAPHIC wishes to challenge the traders at our markets, as well as fire service personnel, to work towards ensuring that the markets are well fitted with such gadgets.
Although there have been reports that the traders have failed to avail themselves of training on firefighting, we believe that the issue must still be pursued to ensure that there is a mechanism in place to effectively deal with fire outbreaks.
It is quite surprising that markets that boast scores of able-bodied young men and women do not have firefighting brigades.
The DAILY GRAPHIC once again urges all relevant stakeholders to heed the call by Mr Anaglate to prevent any more fire outbreaks at our markets.