Gov’t to support over 3,000 Odawna Market fire victims

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has given the assurance that government will soon rewire all markets in Accra in order to ensure that the perennial fire outbreaks in the country’s markets become a thing of the past.

The President gave this assurance yesterday when he visited Odawna Market, at Kwame Nkrumah Circle, after fire gutted the place at the dawn of yesterday.

“I am here to get first-hand information on the unfortunate situation that happened,” he said.

The President said the Municipal and District ExecutiveS of the areas would write down the names of all those who had their shopped razed down in order to give them the required help so they can bounce back into business.

He disclosed that through the National Board for Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI), support would be provided for the over 3,000 traders affected by the fire within two weeks.

“So, I entreat you all to have patience and that everything will be fine,” President Akufo-Addo said.

Incident

Hundreds of stalls were affected by the fire, which left residents of the area and shop owners at the market, also known as the Pedestrian Shopping Mall, in shock.

An eyewitness who spoke to the media accused some market women of being responsible for the spread of the fire.

According to the witness, when the personnel from the Ghana Fire Service got to the scene, the entrance to the market had been blocked, making it impossible for the fire tender to move to where the fire was.

He explained that when the personnel got in touch with the market women to move their items, they refused to allow the men in the area to assist.

“Around 10:30 to 11 pm I was moving from the VIP Station heading to the market when I saw smoke. It was from a small fire. We started to put it out with water that we could find before rushing to call the Fire Service,” he narrated.

The eyewitness further added: “The team rushed over with a vehicle and asked for the entrance to be cleared, but the women insisted that they will move the items alone. When we finally had access to the market, we decided to remove all the cylinders from the stores close to the fire to prevent an explosion but again the women refused.”

“They accused us of trying to steal their stuff and locked up the market again. Within seconds, a cylinder exploded and caused the fire to spread. The Fire Service tried to put it out, but it was difficult because of the cylinders and the types of items lying around. The Fire Service came back with about 10 cars but the fire is (sic) still burning,” he further narrated.