Fire Razes Kantamanto
The Kantamanto Market in the Accra Central Business District was yesterday morning thrown into a state of mourning when fire gutted the market, destroying property worth several thousands of Ghana cedis.
Traders were seen wailing uncontrollably after rushing to the market to find their goods in ruins.
Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Ammisah-Arthur and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate in the 2012 general elections, sent their heartfelt messages to the traders.
The fire outbreak, the third in two years, started around 4:00am, and destroyed almost all the structures in the entire market, displacing hundreds of traders. But there were no casualties as at the time our reporters were leaving the market in the afternoon.
Even though the cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained, information gathered indicated that the fire started in one of the second-hand clothing shops behind the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) building and subsequently spread to other wooden structures, consuming the entire market.
Adjoining industrial and commercial buildings were spared the fury of the rampaging fire which gave firefighters a tough time before succumbing to their tenders.
As at the time firefighters from the Ghana National Fire Service got to the scene the fire had spread widely, so there was little they could do to salvage the situation.
About eight fire tenders were deployed to quench the fire to prevent it from spreading to GCB building and other structures around.
The market is the base for second-hand clothes dealers popularly known as 'broni waawu' traders.
One of the affected traders told DAILY GUIDE that his goods worth GH¢60,000 (¢600million) had been consumed by the fire.
'I was at home when I had a call that the market was on fire. I rushed to the scene and realized that my store had been razed down by the raging fire,' he said.
The trader, with tears rolling down his cheeks, called on the government to come to their aid since all their stalls and goods had been consumed by the fire.
Deputy Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Prince Billy Anaglate, told DAILY GUIDE that they got a distress call around 5:45am that the Kantamanto market was on fire.
He said they quickly dispatched their men to the market. According to the PRO, the fire fighters got there in eight minutes after they received the call, but there was little they could do to salvage the situation as the fire had already spread to other structures.
Mr. Anaglate said because of the nature of the fire, they had to send seven more fire tenders to help bring the situation under control and also prevent the fire from spreading to the Ghana Commercial Bank building.
Explaining why it took them several hours to bring the situation under control, he said assessing the fire itself and getting to the root of it became a problem because they had difficulty accessing the fire ground.
Mr. Anaglate said the fire was able to spread easily because the structures were all made up of combustible materials, noting that investigations were underway to actually ascertain the cause of the fire outbreak.
The Ghana Police Service deployed their men to the scene to maintain order and also prevent thieves from looting the salvaged items.
Vice President Amissah-Arthur visited the market around noon and sympathized with victims and traders who lost their wares and cash.
When the Vice-President got to the scene, a thick smoke was bellowing.
Mr Amissah-Arthur expressed worry over the huge loss, saying, 'This is another disaster that should never have happened.'
He appealed to the Ministry of Finance and financial institutions to come to the aid of the victims with soft loans.
Akufo-Addo Consoles Victims
Nana Akufo-Addo expressed his deepest condolences to the victims, saying it was 'a very sad day in the history of Ghana' and charged the relevant authorities to put in place the necessary measures to forestall the occurrence of such disasters.
Nana Akufo-Addo bemoaned what appeared to be a high frequency of fire outbreaks, especially in markets in the country in recent times, calling for immediate steps to arrest the problem. He added that this 'calls for a standardised strategic plan in designing markets in the country to prevent the incessant fire outbreaks.'
He suggested that the Ghana Institution of Engineers, Ghana Institution of Architects, Architectural Engineering Services Limited (AESL) and the Ghana National Fire Service must come together in designing the markets in order to prevent such outbreaks which had caused damage to property, lives and loss of livelihood to many entrepreneurs in these markets over the years.
'There have been too many fire outbreaks in our markets lately, and it is high time we took serious steps to bring the situation under control. I am making a passionate appeal to the relevant authorities, especially the Institutes of Engineers, Architects and Planners, to come out with innovative plans for the construction of modern prototype markets that will make it difficult for the recurrence of these fires,' Nana Addo noted.
By Cephas Larbi & Nii Ogbamey Tetteh
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