19 Shops burnt in Kumasi market fire

Fire Tuesday gutted more than 19 shops on the main Adum-Central Market link road in Kumasi, leaving the shop owners devastated.

Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) did their best to bring the fire under control, thereby preventing it from spreading to the nearby Yaa Achia School.

There was no casualty, but items destroyed in the shops included clothes, electrical gadgets, CDs, DVD players, shoes, jewellery and deep freezers in a cold store.

Eyewitness account

According to eyewitnesses, the fire started around 5:15 a.m. and raged on for a while before fire personnel from the Manhyia Fire Station came to put out the fire.

An eyewitness, Mr Frank Boakye, told the Daily Graphic that they saw smoke coming from one of the shops, but by the time they got closer it had turned into a raging fire.

He said when personnel of the GNFS got to the scene, about 19 shops had been razed down.

Victims

A trader, Madam Rejoice Abena Menu, who could not control her tears on seeing her wares go up in flames, told the Daily Graphic that she took delivery of many large bales of used clothes on Monday and kept them in her shop which has been gutted by fire.

She explained that she recently took a loan of GH¢7,000 from a savings and loans company to revamp her business and wondered how she would pay back the loan.

Another victim, Mr Richard Gyimah, a CD and DVD player seller, said he could not retrieve any of his goods and pleaded with the authorities to assist the victims with some money to restart their businesses.

The Assistant Station Officer of the Manhyia Fire Station, Mr Thomas Karikari, told the Daily Graphic that although fire personnel reached the scene in record time, the metal gates to the shops prevented them from putting out the fire in some of the shops.

Commendation

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Peter Anarfi, who rushed to the scene, commended the efforts of the fire officers and the police who provided security for the smooth operations.

He charged officers of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to take inventory of the shops destroyed for the appropriate action to be taken.