A deadly fire Outbreak has razed down several shops Asawasi Bombay, a popular wood market at Akwatialine in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region
OTEC News’ reporter Kwame Agyenim Boateng who is currently at the scene reported that goods amounting to thousands of cedis have been destroyed the raging inferno.
The fire started around 9am on Thursday morning. The cause is still unknown.
Two fire tenders were rushed to the scene after the first team of fire officials failed to fight the blazing fire.
Although hundreds of youth in the area have joined officials of the Ghana National Fire Service to douse out the fire, house in the area are at risk of been wretched.
According to Kwame Agyenim Boateng some of the owners of the wood companies are stranded, and there are fears by residents that the fire will extend to wooden structures near the site of the explosion.
“We have some electricity pylons here and the wires are down. This is a big danger for the residents here,” he said.
An eyewitness who spoke to OtecNews said this is not the first time such an outbreak has been recorded at the wood market.
He suspects that a gas cylinder that exploded at the scene made the outbreak worse.
“This fire has affected more than 300 people… A gas cylinder caused the fire to intensity, if not, we would have controlled the fire. This is not the first time such a fire is happening. In 2010 a similar thing happened, and it was more serious than what we are experiencing today. That one affected over 400 people,” he said.
The chairman of head porters at the wood market also appealed to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to come to the aid of the head porters who have lost their properties to the fire.
Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com