What Happens After a Fire in Ghana: Investigation, Insurance Claims and the GNFS Report

Public reporting of major Ghanaian fires tends to end at “the cause is under investigation”. For the business that suffered the fire, that is where the hard part begins. This article sets out what happens next, who is involved, what each party is trying to establish, and how to avoid the errors that turn a recoverable loss into an unrecoverable one. For what an independent investigation involves, see fire investigation in Ghana.

The first hours: the GNFS on scene

The Ghana National Fire Service attends, extinguishes the fire, makes the scene safe and, under the Ghana National Fire Service Act, 1997 (Act 537), investigates the cause. Fire officers will record the time of call and arrival, the extent of the fire on arrival, the actions taken, and their observations about where the fire appears to have started and why. Where there are fatalities, serious injuries or suspicion of a criminal act, the Police are involved and the scene may be treated as a crime scene.

What the occupier should do in these hours is simple and often not done: keep people away from the scene once it is safe, do not begin clearing debris, photograph everything before anything is moved, note who was on site and what they saw, and preserve any records that survived, including CCTV recorders, access-control logs, alarm panel logs and the fire safety records that the insurer will ask for.

The GNFS fire report

The GNFS issues a fire report on request, and insurers require it. It records the incident, the attending crew’s findings and the service’s opinion on cause. Three things are worth understanding about it.

First, it is the official record that a fire occurred, which is why no claim proceeds without it. Second, its conclusion on cause is formed by fire officers whose primary task on the night was suppression, not forensic examination, and it is often expressed in general terms: “suspected electrical fault” is the most common conclusion in GNFS reporting, reflecting the service’s repeated finding that electrical faults are the country’s leading cause of fire outbreaks. Third, the report is not binding on the insurer, the courts or an independent investigator. Where the cause matters, and where a large sum turns on it, the GNFS report is the beginning of the inquiry rather than its end.

Notifying the insurer

Fire policies require prompt notification, and most set a time limit. Notify the insurer or broker on the day, in writing, even before the extent of the loss is known. Late notification is one of the most common grounds on which claims are delayed or disputed, and it is entirely avoidable.

The insurer will appoint a loss adjuster, whose job is to establish the cause and circumstances of the fire, whether the policy responds, whether policy conditions were complied with, and the quantum of the loss. The adjuster will ask for the GNFS report, the fire certificate, records of fire safety maintenance, the inventory and financial records that support the claimed loss, and the CCTV and alarm records. This is where the annual fire safety cycle we describe in our fire certificate guide pays off. A business that cannot show its certificate was current, its extinguishers were serviced and its alarm was tested is a business whose claim is about to become a negotiation about its own negligence.

Policy conditions and warranties

Commercial fire policies in Ghana commonly carry conditions on fire precautions, storage of flammables, electrical maintenance, security of the premises and, for retail and forecourts, cash handling. Under the Insurance Act, 2021 (Act 1061) and the policy terms, breach of a condition that is material to the loss can reduce or defeat the claim. Read the policy before the fire, map each condition to a control, and keep the evidence. After the fire, be accurate: an inaccurate statement to an adjuster does more damage than an honest admission of a gap.

When an independent investigation is needed

Several parties may need a conclusion on origin and cause that will stand up to challenge:

• The insurer, before paying or repudiating a large claim, or where the GNFS finding is inconclusive
• The business, which needs to know whether the cause was electrical, procedural or deliberate before it rebuilds the same vulnerability, and which may need to defend itself against an allegation of negligence or arson
• Lawyers, pursuing recovery against a contractor, a supplier or a neighbouring occupier, or defending a claim
• Property owners and landlords, who may dispute an insurer’s position or a tenant’s account

An independent investigation follows the scientific method set out in NFPA 921, the guide for fire and explosion investigations, conducted by investigators qualified to NFPA 1033. The sequence is disciplined: secure and preserve the scene; examine systematically from the least to the most damaged areas; document burn patterns, ventilation effects and fire dynamics; examine electrical systems and appliances; collect and record physical evidence under chain of custody; interview witnesses and first responders; and test every candidate hypothesis against the physical evidence before drawing a conclusion. The report sets out findings, basis, methodology and the investigator’s qualifications, so that it can be examined in court under the Evidence Act, 1975 (NRCD 323), by an adjuster or by a board.

The investigation is only as good as the scene it examines, which brings us back to the first 72 hours.

The mistakes that cost claims

1. Clearing the scene early. Debris is evidence. Once it is in a skip, the origin cannot be established and every party’s hypothesis becomes unfalsifiable, which is the worst position for the innocent occupier.
2. Restoring power or removing appliances. The electrical system is the most common suspected cause and the most common thing to be disturbed before it is examined.
3. Late or verbal notification. Notify in writing on the day.
4. Statements without records. “The extinguishers were serviced” is an assertion. A service tag and a supplier invoice are evidence.
5. Discarding the recorder. A fire-damaged CCTV recorder or alarm panel often still holds the data. Preserve it and let a specialist recover it.
6. No inventory. Quantum disputes consume more time than cause disputes. Stock records, asset registers and photographs from before the fire are what settle them.
7. Assuming the GNFS conclusion closes the matter. Where the sum is large or the cause is contested, it does not.

What good looks like

The businesses that come through a serious fire with their claim paid and their operations restored have three things in common. Before the fire they held a current certificate and ran fire safety as an annual cycle with records. In the first days they preserved the scene, notified in writing and gathered their records before the adjuster asked. And where cause was in doubt, they commissioned their own investigation rather than relying on the account of whichever party had the most to gain from a particular conclusion.

Fire investigation sits within our broader corporate investigations practice, led by an ASIS PCI-certified investigator with legal training, and it connects to the fire risk assessment and certification work that prevents the next one. If you have had a fire and need an independent view of cause, or you want to make sure your premises would survive an adjuster’s questions, contact us and we will respond within one business day.