The management of Top FM and Top TV has challenged a Graphic Online report to the effect that its operations have been shut down by the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) due to inadequate fire safety measures.
In a rejoinder Tuesday, TOP FM's management denied that its stations had been shut down, stressing that it had taken the decision to temporarily stay off air to fix the stations equipment, including transmitters, which were gutted by fire Sunday.
Read the rejoinder below:
Re- fire service shuts down Top FM for failing to adhere to fire regulations
Our attention has been drawn to the above caption currently running in the media that Top FM and Top TV, subsidiaries of Top Media Group have been closed down by the Ghana National Fire Service for failing to adhere to basic fire safety regulations at its premises.
We wish to put on record that the story is palpable false and does not reflect the incidence that led to the station going off Air for the past three days.
Management wishes to respond as follows; that.
1. There has never been any directive be it verbal or written from the National fire service forcing the closure of the station .
2. The station has satisfied every requirement at all the earlier stages in acquiring a fire certificate and also have acquired firefighting facility conspicuously displayed at the premises of the station based on the initial recommendations of the GNFS.
3. Fire personnel periodically come to the premises of the station to inspect these facilities; indeed the last time they visited was three weeks ago.
4. It was management ‘s decision to temporary stay off air to fix the stations equipment including its transmitters which was gutted by fire in the early hours of Sunday the 12th of April 2015.
5. It is on record that on the day of the incident , it was the staff of the station who placed a distressed call to the GNFS who promptly came to douse the fire before it could spread to other buildings .
6. After fighting the fire , the fire personnel led by its investigator asked us not to dispose of the fire debris as they were still investigating the cause of fire, and that they will give us the clearance the following day (Monday 13th April 2015) by that time they would have issued their preliminary investigative report.
7. We were therefore surprised to read in the news later in the day that the station has been closed down by the GNFS.
8. We wish to put on record that at all these material times management of the station had not been furnished with the preliminary report .
9. What we find intriguing is the hurried manner the GNFS held a press conference and stated that the station has been closed down for failure to adhere to basic fire regulations, when indeed there has never been any communication to the management of the station .
10. We wish to state that the station has not been totally burnt to ashes as the various media reports claim but rather a room housing the transmitter of both the TV and radio which got burnt .
11. We urge our cherished listeners and advertisers to ignore the report of us been closed down and expect us to be on air soon.
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