Accra, Dec. 21 GNA - The Greater Accra Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service on Wednesday said media reports on the recent fire outbreak at the Kantamanto Market were unfair to the Service.

Briefing pressmen in Accra, Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACO) Samuel Yankey in charge of Greater Accra Region said media allegations that Firemen arrived at the scene without water in their fire tenders was preposterous.

He said the media coverage of the fire incident had "seriously tarnished the image of the Ghana National Fire Service and completely demoralised the fire personnel".

He said the National Fire Service was portrayed as a "useless organisation whose personnel do not deserve any public sympathy for all the risk they took in dealing with that very dangerous situation". ACO Yankey said that fire personnel arrived at the scene five minutes after they received the report explaining that the fire outbreak was reported to the City Fire Station at 0510 hours on Saturday and at 0515 hours, one dual-purpose tender with seven fire fighters arrived at the scene.

ACO Yankey said the operation was slow due to "the poor lay-out of the market, congestion and obstruction on the access roads". He said 10 dual-purpose tenders were used in the operation, adding that help was requested from other fire stations because the operation required massive use of water, which could not be obtained in the immediate surrounding.