[PHOTOS] NADMO Disaster Control Officer reveals the extent of damage at Central Market

The Disaster Control Officer of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Abdul Basit Gariba has revealed the extent of damage by the fire outbreak at the Kumasi Central Market which occurred on Sunday night.

According to him, almost 40 shops have been gutted by fire although inspection is still ongoing to know the exact number of shops affected yet the degree of damage is not as compared to the previous.

“Almost 40 shops have been affected and a definite figure cannot be given because most of the shops have been locked and even though the front shows no signs of burns yet after opening, you realise the interior has been affected,” he told Soireenews.

NADMO Disaster Control Officer, Abdul Basit Gariba

According to him, the wreck done by the fire at the Central Market has totally lessened when measured with the previous where 600-700 shops get upset by fire and that is because situational assessment at fire-prone areas were done during the harmattan and a lot of issues discussed to prevent fire outbreaks were implemented.

“In previous incidents, it burnt beyond this limit but it has been controlled and we have less than 50 shops as compared to the previous 700. We believe that after things are put in place, this will totally end,” he revealed.

“I have run this market for three years and issues of the market is known to me for the past ten years. I am abreast with the reality on the market.

“Central Market some time ago was not used to situational assessment at fire-prone areas but for the past four months during the harmattan season, I visited this place with my team and we discussed a lot of issues they raised concerns at."  

He told Soireenews that during their assessment in the harmattan, they met with some leaders of shoemakers and slippers, and concerns were raised on how fire-gut could be brought to a halt through the execution of the presented response.

He opened that a lot of man-made errors within the market were identified and the situation was in the process of resolving.

“We realised that the job of the shoemakers deals with flammable materials which was a threat to the market. Other places used gas cylinders though most of them denied, yet with our covet investigators, we found out the truth.”

“Other issues were how most of the electrical machines beyond the wiring cable capacity which generated heat due to power consumption could end. The cables sometimes burn five to six hours in their absence of traders and we were witnesses to it.

He told that the government's decision of rebuilding the market is a good step and based on that their plans have limited for the time being.”

Traders expressed uneasiness at the unfortunate event and called on government and other stakeholders to come to their aid.