Kumasi Central Market gutted by fire


For the second time this year, parts of the Central Market in Kumasi have been gutted by fire, causing damage worth thousands of cedis.

Close to 50 shops were destroyed by the fire which was said to have started around 11:45 p.m.  on Saturday night.

The affected areas include Adehye and Tweapea lines.

But for the timely intervention of the firemen from the Manhyia Fire Service station, a different story would have been told.

It took the fire service about one- and-a-half hours to put out the fire. Most of the  affected shops  contained provisions, diapers, plastic items and beads, among other things.

The Ashanti Regional Fire Officer, Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) Philip Arhin Mensah, told the Daily Graphic that his men had difficulty getting close to the fire due to the inaccessibility of the place.

He said they had a call  around 11:56 last  Saturday that there was  a fire outbreak at the Central Market and personnel from the Manhyia fire division were dispatched to the scene.

Later, men from the KNUST fire station were called in to attend to the re-ignited fire which had occurred in the afternoon.

He was, however, unable to give the cause of the fire and said investigations had begun. 

When the Daily Graphic visited the scene, the fire had been put out but some firemen were still around.

Some of the traders who lost their wares in the fire called for assistance from the government and philanthropists to help them back on their feet.

According to Mama Betty, owner of Gabet Company, distributors of Nestle products, she lost close to GH¢25,000 worth of  items to the fire.

According to her, she had a call at around 6 a.m. that her shop was on fire and when she got there, she realised the whole shop had been consumed by the fire.

Another victim, Abdulai Alhassan, who deals in beads, said he had lost wares close to GH¢15,000 to the fire.

He said he was called around 12:50 a.m. and got to the market  around 1a.m. by which time the firemen were already on the scene.

He commended the fire personnel for responding quickly to the call, preventing the fire from spreading to other parts of the market.

He said but for their timely arrival, the entire lane would have been engulfed by fire.

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