Close to 30 shops at Kumasi Central Market gutted by fire

Some shop owners at the Kumasi Central Market will now have to pick up the pieces and rebuild after their shops were gutted by fire in the late hours of Sunday, April 18, 2021.

A report by Citinewsroom indicates that close to thirty shops at the market were razed by the fire that spread through the part occupied by cobblers popularly known as ‘shoe makers’.

The cause of the inferno is yet to be known but firefighters had to spend hours to bring it under control and save the left overs.

An eyewitness, Alhassan Idris told Citi News that: “I was asleep when I heard of the fire outbreak at the Kumasi Central market. I rushed to the market, and it was true that there was a fire outbreak. So, I tried to help to contain the fire. As of the time I came to the market, I was desperate to help put out the fire, so I didn’t really ask what caused it.” ACFO Henry Giwah, the Ashanti Regional Deputy Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service revealed the frustration of firefighters in accessing the place.

He also revealed why the fire spread at an alarming rate, citing the presence of leathers and turpentine as the cause.

“We received a distress call around 8:48 pm that there was a fire outbreak at the Central market, so we quickly dispatched our men. When they arrived, they saw that the whole place had been engulfed by the fire, affecting about 27 shops. So they tried to confine it so that it would not spread further.

“Accessibility is always a problem here. It’s a big problem. The interference from the traders was not also good. Leather and turpentine products were involved so when you put out the fire, before you realise, it has reignited,” he said.