A midnight inferno has reduced the forty-year-old plastic manufacturing company, Charkieh Plastics and Packaging, to rubble.
Managers and workers are already counting their losses after their multi-million-dollar investment was turned to ashes.
From afar, thick smoke filled the air.
A closer view reveals a more devastating scene at Cay Jay Plastics, a local firm that converts plastic pellets and raw materials into reusable products.
Eyewitnesses say that at about 3 a.m. on Saturday, a nearby transformer supporting power supply to the company began emitting sparks, before a fierce flame erupted and raced through the facility.
Within hours, the four-decade-old company had been completely reduced to ashes, leaving more than three hundred employees instantly jobless.
Personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service, deployed following a distress call, spent several hours battling the blaze to prevent it from spreading to adjoining properties.
However, the presence of highly flammable materials posed a herculean challenge for firefighters.
There were no fire hydrants in the enclave, forcing the multiple fire tenders deployed to travel to Kaneshie and beyond to refill their tanks.
The Weija-Gbawe Municipal Assembly released two of its water tankers originally meant for district road improvement projects to support the firefighting operation.
An excavator was also made available to create access routes for the tenders to reach the highly combustible sections of the facility.
Accra Regional Fire Officer, ACFO II Rashid Kwame Nisawu, provided further details.
Weija-Gbawe Municipal Chief Executive, Felix Odartey Lamptey, stressed the need for emerging companies to secure the necessary permits and for the installation of fire hydrants across the enclave.
The Managing Director of Charkieh Plastics and Packaging Company Limited, Hajia Gloria Amenu, told journalists that although the company was insured, central government support would be needed to rebuild. She added that many workers risk being laid off.
Saturday’s inferno has once again highlighted the urgent need for strict adherence to safety regulations, the installation of essential fire infrastructure, and enhanced collaboration between local authorities and industries.
As investigations continue, the fate of more than three hundred workers hangs in the balance, with the affected company hoping for swift intervention to restore livelihoods and revive operations.
