Fire swept through Mankoadze Cold Stores at Tema last week , causing extensive damage to a refrigerated truck and other property.

The cause of the fire, which was quickly brought under control by fire personnel, is yet to be established. Workers at the company said some welders were rehabilitating the cold store, which has been out of order for the past year, when the incident occurred. All the 12 workers undertaking the repair works rushed out to safety before the fire engulfed the room on the upper floor where they were working.

Assistant Station Officer Joseph Banini of the Ghana National Fire Service, Ashaiman, said it took a team of fire personnel from the GPHA, Tema Oil Refinery and other stations to put off the fire. Mr Banini said the fire was a serious one, which could have caused more damage if it had not been quickly quenched.

The 300-tonne capacity cold store was built in the early 1970s as the first privately owned cold store in Tema.