kumasi market fires
The incidence of fire gutting the Kumasi Central Market has become so common that if there is no fire in the market for a year that would be seen as a miracle. It seems as if the market women have come to understand that it is normal for fire to destroy their wares once in a while. But that is understandable because the fires are preventable. There is the tendency to believe that the fires are either caused by arsonists or the recklessness of market women who have turned the market into their homes and turned their stalls and stores into kitchens.
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Causes of fires
Many of the fires are caused by the lack of caution. Most of the market women have turned the market into their homes and cook their meals there. Sometimes, the fire is not completely put out. The other major cause of market fires is overloaded sockets. One socket has so many appliances connected to it that the inevitable is tripping to cause fire.
Compounding the problem is the lack of space for fire engines of the Ghana National Fire Service to move about in the market to contain the fires when they break out. That is not how the market was constructed. However, the market women have extended their stalls with canopies, making it difficult to get space for even human beings to walk around in the market.
What it means, therefore, is that if the market fires are to stop, then there is the need for a change in the attitude of the market women. It is imperative to ensure that no cooking takes place in the market. The market is not an ideal place for cooking. Indeed all manner of naked fire should not be part of the market environment. There must be a complete stop to carrying naked fire to the market.
Again the idea of overloading sockets must stop. The Electricity Company of Ghana and the Ghana National Fire Service must carry out periodic inspection of the markets to check illegal and wrongful connection of electricity as well as overloaded sockets. These measures are necessary if we are to escape from the constant burning of the Kumasi Central Market.
Loss to fire
The fire at the market last week is said to be the most severe. Some of the market women testified that they had been in the market for more than 40 years, but had never witnessed such level of destruction of a large expanse of the market. Every effort must be made to ensure that the fires are completely eliminated. Indeed, that is possible since all the fires that have affected the market are preventable.
The other side of the market fires, the little known fact, is that millions of cedis, in raw cash, get destroyed each time that a market fire occurs. One lady nearly lost GH¢ 8,000 and was just lucky as the fire stopped in front of her shop. She was equally lucky that she managed to get to the market before the fire spread. The story is no different from other traders, many of whom did not just lose their wares, but they equally lost money.
It must be clear that if the market cannot be reconstructed, then the only solution is to ban cooking and lighting of fire within its confines. The ECG and Fire Service must also regularly inspect electrical connections and overloading of sockets such that the market would be safe from fires.
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Way forward
We cannot continually allow innocent persons to suffer because of the recklessness of a few people. On the other hand, if the fires are caused by arsonists, then we have a bigger responsibility to protect our market women from the hands of criminals. Whichever way one looks at the problem of the market fires, there is a greater responsibility for the city authorities to ensure the safety and security of the Kumasi Central Market.
It has become necessary for the market women to cooperate with the authorities to find means of reconstructing the stores and stalls such that there will be open alleys for free vehicular movement within the market such that when it becomes imperative for the National Fire Service to undertake any operation within the market, there will be unhindered access.
On this note, I join all Ghanaians in expressing our deepest sympathy to those who lost their sweat and toil to the recent destructive fire which devastated a large portion of the Kumasi Central Market.