Fire razes homes of kayayei in Kumasi

Wooden structures providing shelter for more than 200 head porters, also known as kayayei, near the Aboabo Bridge at Afful Nkwanta in Kumasi, were destroyed by fire last Saturday night.

The fire that started around 8.30 p.m. destroyed personal belongings, mostly television sets, refrigerators, suitcases, furniture and the savings of the porters.

Because the area is part of a large slum where there are no proper access roads, the personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) had a hectic time reaching the affected area.

The fire personnel had to join water hoses before they could reach the fire.

But for the timely intervention of the fire personnel, the fire would have spread to other areas of the slum.

Personnel of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) had to be called to cut power supply to the entire area because the fire was burning under high tension electricity cables.

This is the second major fire outbreak in Kumasi in January this year.

Last Wednesday night, a fire outbreak that occurred at the Kumasi Central Market left in its trail, the destruction of about 300 shops.

Confusion

At the time the Daily Graphic team visited the scene, many of the kayayei and their male counterparts were wailing uncontrollably.

Some managed to secure a few of their items. No casualty was recorded.   The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Many of the kayayei, who are mothers, frantically searched for their children, with most of them shouting out the names of the children.

Other residents also sustained injuries when they tried to remove their belongings from the structures before the fire got to them.

Firefighters

Firefighters from the Ghana National Fire Service prevented the fire from spreading to concrete houses, including a church.

Assistant Station Officer Joseph Moulder from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Fire Station told the Daily Graphic that it took more than 30 minutes to prevent the fire from spreading.

He cautioned against the reckless use of fire, especially during dry season.

The wooden structures were erected in the middle of last year when the Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly relocated the residents because they lived too close to the Aboabo bridge and were believed to be contributing to the siltation of the drain.