Fire razes down Kumasi building constructed in 1910

Goods including household items and cash estimated to run into millions of Ghana cedis were lost when fire gutted a two-storey building at Adum, the central business district of Kumasi, on Thursday night.

The building, constructed in 1910, housed a number of shops including the Ashanti Pharmacy (one of the oldest pharmacy shops in the Metropolis), Archer Limited, dealers in household hardware and appliances and many others.

The fire started at about 2130 hours and it was still smoldering, when the Ghana News Agency (GNA) got to the scene on Friday morning at 0700 hours.

The fire is believed to have come from a dustbin placed in the midst of sawdust from a carpentry shop into which ashes containing naked fire had been inadvertently placed. Fueled by the sawdust, the fire quickly spread to engulf the building.

Firefighters battled for hours to prevent the fire from extending to some other nearby structures – banks and vehicle showrooms.

A resident of the house, who identified himself only as Kwabi told the GNA that he saw the fire sweeping through the sawdust and run to draw water in an attempt to put it out.

He said as he got upstairs he saw smoke coming from the ceiling of the building and shouted for the occupants to come out, before running to a fire service station about 100 meters away to inform them.

He claimed the response of the firefighters was slow, saying it took about 45 minutes for them to arrive at the scene.

Mr Philip Ahen-Mensah, the Ashanti Regional Fire Officer, said investigation had begun to determine the cause.

He said personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service at the Kumasi Metropolitan office received the information from a passenger in a taxi and quickly responded to the emergency.

Mr Samuel Yaw Adusei, the Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, advised the people to be more careful in their handling of naked fire and electrical appliances in their homes.

Source: GNA