Fire broke out at the newly-built Kejetia Market in the Ashanti regional capital Kumasi, razing a shop to the ground and forcing traders to evacuate.

The fire which started at about 18:32 GMT on Wednesday was brought under control following the timely intervention of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).

Confirmation

About 80 percent of the shops in the market were closed when the incident occurred. Smoke detected from the affected shop triggered the firefighting systems.

An officer-in-charge at the Kejetia Fire Post, ADO II Opoku Ebenezer told dailymailgh.com that investigations have started.

“There was smoke all over and so we had to fight the fire with our hydrants and sprinklers. As for the cause of the fire it is still under investigation”, the fire officer said as he confirmed that no casualty was recorded.

Operations suspended

“In view of the above, the Market would be opened at 11 a.m tomorrow [Wednesday, May 12]. This is to allow Management and appropriate authorities to assess the situation and take remedial measures,” a statement from the Kejetia City Market Limited, managers of the facility said on Tuesday night.

“People must be assured of their safety. Life is the most important ingredient one has. So we must ensure that people are protected in the morning.

"We will clean up, make sure the whole place is out in good order then we will open for our valuable clients to come in and do business”, Manager of the facility, Kofi Duffour further added.