The Tuesday night fire outbreak at one of the biggest markets of the Central Business District in Accra has caused losses to some traders running into thousands of cedis.
On Tuesday, December 15, 2020, around 10:00 pm in the night, fire broke out within portions of the Kantamanto Market.
Predominantly known as the hub for secondhand clothes, the fire outbreak saw over 100 shops being razed to ashes.
When GhanaWeb visited the site in the morning on Wednesday, some traders could be seen trying to salvage what was almost ashes left of their goods.
The scene was also crowded with some youth who had been working throughout the night assisting personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service to bring the fire under control.
Others who had their goods and shops completely burnt could do nothing but wear a mood of heartbreak on their faces.
From business capital and assets worth as little as GHC1,000 to GHC100,000, some traders shared with GhanaWeb the loss suffered as a result of the fire.
A widow who deals in secondhand clothing could not hold back her tears as she told GhanaWeb that all her lifetime investment including money borrowed from the bank for her business had been lost in the fire.
According to her she recently had to spend over GHC8,000 on treatment for her son who recently graduated from the university but has suffered a bone fracture in his leg.
She said that, coupled with footing the funeral bills of her late mother and losing her investment of over GHC100,000 means that her life has virtually come to a halt.
Aunty Grace who supplies charcoal to food vendors in the Central Business District said she has also lost over GHC30,000 of her investment.
Aunty Grace who is also, a widow with five children and other affected traders who spoke to GhanaWeb said having lost their investments, they hope the government of Ghana will come to their aid in the form of capital to help them resurrect their businesses and pay off debts they have incurred.
At the time GhanaWeb visited the scene, personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service were yet to establish the true cause of the fire.
The Public Relations Officer of the Fire Service, Ellis Robinson Oko, speaking to GhanaWeb said with support from the Ghana Police Service and the Military, they had been at the scene throughout the night and had been able to bring the fire under control to stop it from extending further to other shops.
“It is too early to talk about preliminary investigation. Now our men are doing investigation so we will get to the bottom of what caused the fire. We don’t know about the cause yet,” he said.
He however debunked claims by some of the affected traders that they could have done better to help the situation.
Whiles sympathizing with the traders, he insisted that their work at the scene stopped the fire from creating a much more grievous situation at the Kantamanto Market.
