National Fire Service to shut down Odo Rice & Mr. Biggs over poor fire safety measures

Two restaurants in the national capital, Odo Rice and Mr. Biggs, risk closure today if they fail to comply with an ultimatum given by the National Fire Service on fire safety at their premises.

 

A visit by the national fire service to some commercial centres last Friday, revealed non-compliance by these restaurants.

In addition to the unserviceable fire extinguishers at both eateries, Mr. Biggs also had faulty electrical wiring as well as non-functioning early warning systems.

Unsatisfied, with the situation at hand, the Greater Accra Regional Fire Officer, Ebenezer Simpson issued a 24 hour ultimatum for the situation to be rectified.

Speaking to Citi Business News on the next move, Ebenezer Simpson disclosed of a possible shut down of the two premises if they fail to meet the deadline.

“We will be going back to Mr. Biggs and Odo Rice today to find out whether they have complied with the directive we gave last Friday….when we go there and these things are not functioning or they have not repaired them, we will revoke their fire certificate. This will also mean they have flouted the fire regulations Act as such, we will arrange for their conviction.”Ebenezer Simpson noted.

He added, “The place will no longer be safe for public consumption so we are going to close down the place.”

Meanwhile management of Grand View Hotel, located in Accra central, have a week to correct an obstruction to its entrance to allow accessibility in case of an emergency.

Regional Fire Officer, Ebenezer Simpson tells Citi Business News the Fire Service will shut down the hotel if it also fails to meet the one week ultimatum.

“We expect that their entrance will be cleared of any obstruction. The initial thing to do is to ensure that the structure that they are constructing at the frontage of the entrance is cleared to make it more accessible than it is now. So within one week if they have not done anything, we are going to revoke their fire certificate meaning the place is not safe to be used by the public. We will also put measures in place to get the place closed down.”

citifmonline.com