Investigations into the recent Kejetia Market fire have revealed that it was started by a trader who was cooking inside her shop, according to Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
After visiting the Kejetia market in Kumasi, the administrative center of the Ashanti Region, to assess the extent of the inferno’s damage, he announced this.
“I asked the Ghana National Fire Service and NADMO what caused the fire and they told me that their investigations revealed that someone, a trader who was cooking in her shop using a gas stove and that was where the fire started, close to a nearby chemical shop, where they sell gunpowder, carbide, turpentine that resulted in the explosion,” he is quoted as saying.
On March 15, a fire completely destroyed the market, destroying many shops and the goods of the traders. The market has been shut down, and the Ghana National Fire Service has opened an investigation into the situation.
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), in particular, were consulted, according to Bawumia, and it was determined that the traders could resume their business in the market as of Tuesday, March 21, as the fire was not brought on by an electrical problem.
“I was taken around, especially where the incident happened. The shops were 33 out of 8,000. I asked the Fire Service and NADMO officials as regards the cause,” Bawumia said.
He clarified that the choice to reopen the Kejetia market was made to protect the livelihoods of the impacted vendors.
