A massive fire outbreak swept through the North Industrial Area at Avenor in Accra in the early hours of Thursday, October 1, 2026, destroying properties and spreading into the premises of plastics manufacturing firm, Duraplast Ghana.
The blaze, which reportedly started around 7:30 a.m. at Kofikrom, near the ECG Avenor office, quickly intensified, sending thick plumes of smoke across the industrial enclave and forcing residents, traders and workers to flee.
Firefighters from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) are at the scene with multiple fire engines working to bring the fire under control, but operations have been hampered by poor access. Eyewitnesses say cargo trucks and the absence of accessible roads blocked routes to the fire scene, while large quantities of plastic materials in the area fuelled the blaze.
The fire has since spread into the Duraplast factory, destroying its entire pipe stock and water storage tanks.
Marketing Manager of Duraplast, Emmanuel Donkor, who arrived at the facility around 6:45 a.m., said the fire started from illegal structures behind the company’s wall.
“The challenge currently here is the illegal structures here; that is where the fire started from. It started from the illegal structures just behind our wall,” he said.
Mr. Donkor said two fire tenders initially arrived but struggled to contain the blaze. He also disclosed that the company’s fire hydrants were empty at the time of the incident.
“But all our hydrants (at Duraplast) were also empty,” he said, adding that the company had to contact Ghana Water for emergency support. 03c9
He described the losses as enormous, stating: “All our pipes have been destroyed”.
The military has since intervened to support firefighting efforts. Commanding Officer of the 48 Engineer Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Osei Amponsah, said personnel cleared temporary structures blocking access routes to allow fire engines to move closer to the affected areas.
Meanwhile, two people, including a two-week-old baby, are feared dead following the outbreak, though the GNFS says reports of fatalities remain unverified.
“We can’t confirm any dead person at this stage. Any other reports you are hearing are hearsay,” ADO1 Alex King Nartey of the GNFS Public Relations team said.
Eyewitnesses have suggested the fire may have been triggered by a gas cylinder explosion. According to one account, a woman had been cooking for her children and left the cylinder under the supervision of a child, who allegedly increased the gas flow, causing an explosion.
The GNFS says investigations will be conducted to establish the cause of the fire after containment operations are completed.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
