Police have arrested five suspects for attacking fire personnel deployed to the Kumasi race course market where fire destroyed Close to 200 structures.
The fire is reported to have begun from a corn mill at about 2:00 AM on Monday dawn sweeping through scores of shops and ravaging their entire contents.
Firefighters were attacked by a mob on reaching the scene amidst accusations they were delayed; a claim KATH Fire Station Commander D.O.3 Simon Ben Boadu denied.
He contended that contrary to the accounts of the angry mob; fire appliances arrived at the scene less than five minutes after receiving the distress call.
“We had a call that there was a fire outbreak at the race course around 2:07 AM. Within three to four minutes we were at the scene. We were met with an attack by some guys which delayed the process of fighting the fire. We were able to calm our nerves and started the firefighting within some minutes after the attack,” he recounted.
D.O.3 Simon Ben Boadu disclosed that none of the attackers showed proof of having called the fire service upon interrogation.
“When you ask some of them which number they called they will tell you their brothers called. Meanwhile, you don’t see any evidence of a number on their phones indicating that they really called the fire service,” he pointed out.
The fire command insists they will stop at nothing ensuring the suspects are successfully prosecuted to serve as deterrent.
“We want to promise your viewers that we are going to pursue this to the latter and whatever happens to them will be a deterrent to others that the attack on firemen must stop,” Ben Boadu noted.
Three of the attackers were in the custody of the Racecourse Police Post while two others were sent to the Suame Police Station.
Cause of Fire
D.O.3 Ben Boadu attributed the fire to the congestion of combustible materials at the market.
“THE spread of fire was as a result of the congested nature of the market. The availability of combustible material will aid fire to spread. The combustible materials are close to each other so as the fire moved from one area to the other it aided the spread,” he explained.
He however indicated that further investigations will be commenced into the preliminary findings.
“Looking at the time spent so far, we will not be able to conclude as to what caused the fire but per our preliminary investigations or observations the fire started from one of the corn mills which was at the ceiling level,” the officer added.
Market Losses
Traders have begun counting their losses with calls on the government to provide relief for the huge losses.
Traders lost food items including huge sacks of ‘kokonte’ powder, vegetables like onions, fabric, and any other food market merchandise conceivable.
“The market is all we have to fend for ourselves and our families. I am completely down. Someone should really help us,” a trader told Ultimate News.
“I went in for sacks of onions each costing 900 cedis and some sacks of kokonte costing 700 each. All of it is gone and I don’t know how to pay my creditors,” another trader lamented.
A desperate onion seller who gave her name as Salamatu said she had stocked her shop on Saturday, and taken a rest on Sunday only to be called on Monday that everything she kept in her shop had been raised down to ashes.
Some dressmakers were left distraught having lost all their fabric and machines to the flames.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Ivan Heathcote – Fumador
