A statement released by Ghana’s Public Affairs Sub-Division of Parliament, has said no casualties were reported during the fire incident that hit the Job 600 building on Tuesday, August 27.
It said: ‘Parliament would like to assure the public that there were no casualties although the extent of damage is yet to be determined’.
The statement added that the Clerk to Parliament, Mr Cyril K. O. Nsiah, in consultation with the Speaker Mr Alban S.K. Bagbin, had directed that as a precautionary measure, all Members of Parliament and Staff vacated the precincts of Parliament and returned on Wednesday, August 28, 2024.
‘…The Clerk to Parliament, in consultation with the Rt. Hon Speaker has directed that as a precautionary measure, all Members of Parliament and Staff should vacate the precincts of Parliament and return tomorrow, Wednesday, 28th August 2024. A skeletal staff are, however, to be at the post to deal with exigencies,’ the statement said.
Meanwhile, investigations are ongoing to determine the cause and
extent of the damage.
Fire gutted parts of the Job 600 building in Parliament House Accra on Tuesday morning at about 0945 hours.
The facility which was commissioned by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in November 2020, is an annex to the Chamber of Parliament that houses the offices of the Members of Parliament, and although the exact cause of the fire is unknown, it caused substantial damage to a storeroom.
The Ghana News Agency witnessed the scene of the thick smoke coming from some offices, with the Ghana National Fire Service personnel attempting to extinguish the fire.
Staff and workers in the Job 600 building were quickly evacuated to designated assembly points, as emergency services worked to put out the fire and ascertain its cause.
ACFO 1 Roberta Aggrey Ghanson, the Greater Accra Regional Commander of the Ghana Fire Service, at the time, assured the media at the Parliament House that her team was working to contain the fire so that it would not spread to other rooms.
She confirmed that th
ere had been no casualties so far and that the situation was under control.
‘…Around 09:45 hours we received a distress call and in less than five minutes our appliance was here. ‘If we knew what caused the fire then it would be after our firefighting. But now, the situation is very calm, and everybody should put their heart at rest,’ she added.
The Job 600 building, built under the Parliament House Physical Infrastructure Enhancement Project, was part of a larger effort to address Parliament’s long-standing infrastructure issues.
Source: Ghana News Agency