Minor fire incident on 10th floor of Ghana parliament

A small unit on a tower building at Ghana’s Parliament caught fire on Tuesday but the blaze did not cause any major damage or disrupt the use of the facility, the national fire service said.

The fire started in a printing room on the 10th floor of the “Job 600” complex and spread to an adjoining kitchenette, fire service spokesman Billy Anaglate said.

“We have put it out and everything is under control. It’s not a threatening situation and we expect the complex to open for business tomorrow,” Anaglate said.

Firemen and other officials are investigating what may have started the fire, he added.

Tuesday’s fire was the second to have occurred in the 12-storey building, following a similar incident on the fifth floor in 2012 when the structure was undergoing its first major refurbishment.

The tower was originally built by Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah to serve as the venue for a 1965 meeting of the Organization of African Unity, now the African Union.

It now houses 252 offices and related facilities for members of parliament and their staff after refurbishment and expansion works were completed in 2015.

REUTERS