A devastating fire has razed parts of the Kwadaso market in the Ashanti region, consuming over 40 shops.
The fire began in the early hours of Thursday, August 1, 2024.
The traders at the M line of the market decried the loss of millions of cedis to the inferno as the shops, together with their contents, including fabrics, footwear, frozen foods, plantain, yam, and others, have been destroyed.
They lament that they will be unable to continue with their activities, which is their only source of livelihood.
Some of the traders shared their losses with Citi News.
“All our plantains have been burnt, we are at a great loss, GH¢4,000 to GH¢5,000 plantain all destroyed. We bought the plantains on credit and we have to pay, we don’t know how to go about it. Those who gave us the plantain on credit will come after us, they wouldn’t care. We need help, myself and my colleagues. I’m 62 years old, this is the only business I can do, I don’t have the energy to do any other business.”
Another trader, Adwoa Connie also lamented, “I sell fabrics, shoes, hair scarves and other kinds of stuff. I took a loan, I had a call that all my fabrics were destroyed, and I’m appealing to the government to come to my aid so that I can restart the business, I’m 71-years-old and my kids are in school, there is no help anywhere.
“This is the only job I can do. I got new stock just Wednesday and everything is gone. I have kids too, the money lost could be over a million cedis. I’m pleading with the government to come to my aid.”
In an interview with the PRO of the Ashanti Regional Fire Service, he indicated that the blaze was brought under control after two fire appliances, a fire tender, and a water tanker were deployed to the scene.
He bemoaned that access to the market was challenging because of some obstructions and blockages at the entrance of the market and the road leading to the fire scene, causing a delay in response. He, however, mentioned that investigations are underway to ascertain the cause of the fire.
“Around 03:21 a.m. this dawn, we had a distress call that the Kwadaso Market, M Line, had been involved with a fire. So, we quickly dispatched our station at Komfo Anokye to proceed to the scene. When they got there, they realised the fire was well alight, so they started tackling it and called for assistance. So we also dispatched a tanker to the Metro Fire Station to join them in extinguishing the fire.
The fire affected 40 stalls and their contents, which included frozen foods, then provisions and other stuff. There were no casualties.”
“In fact, when we got there, the fire was well alight. As I indicated initially, it was well alight. The entrance of the market had some obstructions around it, so the doors could not open fully, and the gate did not open fully.
“Access to the scene of the fire was also a challenge because the. There were a lot of obstructions on the road, so that also affected our response,” he stated.