The Ghana Fire Service has determined that the March 2023 fire that engulfed the new Kejetia Market in Kumasi was caused by cooking activities within the market premises.
Peter Addai, the Regional Fire Public Relations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), disclosed that investigations into the incident uncovered that a trader was cooking in a nearby shop. The cooking activities ignited a material, leading to the outbreak of the fire that consumed one of the floors at the market.
This information was shared by the Public Relations Officer for the Ashanti Regional Division of the Fire Service during an interview on Luv FM.
“We are done with the investigations of the fire incident at the Kejetia market. The cause of the market was a trader who was cooking,” he said.
The Regional Fire Public Relations Officer, Peter Addai, mentioned that despite measures implemented to prohibit cooking, heating, or any related activities at the market facility, traders persist in defying these regulations.
He recounted a near-fire incident at the market, underscoring the ongoing challenges in enforcing the rules.
“Another trader nearly set the Kejetia market again on fire in November using a heater to warm water. But this time it was only the kettle that got burnt,” he said.
On March 15, 2023, a portion of the Kejetia market suffered a devastating inferno, causing distress among numerous victims. The fire resulted in the destruction of properties and merchandise valued at millions of cedis.
This incident was part of the over nine hundred fire cases recorded in the region from the beginning of the year until December 10, 2023. Notably, there was a 13.42% reduction in the number of cases compared to the same period in 2022, where 1,058 cases were recorded.
Despite the reduction in cases, there were nine recorded fatalities, a decrease from the 15 lives lost in 2022. The estimated cost of damaged property significantly increased during the year, although considerable efforts were made to salvage property.
“Approximately GHS 226,701, 206.00 were lost as a result of these fire cases. Although there were losses we managed to salvage over GHS 370 million worth of properties as compared to the more than GHS 340 million recorded for last year,” he said.
Source:theindependentghana.com
