Fire at Akwatia Line Timber Market as 30 shops, 70 heavy equipment destroyed
More than 30 sawmill shops and heavy equipment at the Akwatia Line Timber Market in Kumasi were on Sunday night destroyed by fire.
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Over 70 pieces of heavy equipment, hundreds of wooden door and window frames, among other hardware, were gutted by the fire, which is suspected to have started from a hairdressing salon close to the market around 10 p.m.
There was no casualty.
When the Daily Graphic got to the scene yesterday morning, what remained of the once busy machines at the affected area depicted the extent of destruction by the fire.
Shop owners and sympathisers were seen clearing the debris and discussing the impact of the disaster on their livelihoods.
Gas explosion
A victim of the disaster, Alhaji Hussein Ibrahim, who is the Managing Director of Hussein Ibrahim Enterprise, told the Daily Graphic that the fire allegedly started from a nearby salon.
He said those who were around attempted to douse it, while a distress call was made to the Ghana National Fire Service.
Alhaji Ibrahim, who lost three shops and seven machines, alleged that a gas cylinder which was close to the salon caught fire and exploded, sending the flames to the sawmill.
He further alleged that although the fire engines arrived on time, another gas cylinder used by one of the heavy machine repairers, also known as the saw doctor, exploded, aggravating the situation.
Firemen commended
Alhaji Ibrahim was full of commendation for the fire fighters for preventing the fire from spreading to adjoining shops.
He listed items he lost to the fire as a planing machine, a shooting machine used for planing, a table saw, a cross cutter, over 300 finished doors, 400 uncompleted doors and other wood products, all totalling over GH¢200,000.
The victim said although he was around when the fire was raging, he and his five employees could not salvage a single machine because it was almost impossible to remove the heavy machines.
“I watched as the fire destroyed my shops, my wood products and most importantly the machines, including those I bought just some few months ago. This is very sad. I don’t know how I am going to get money to pay my staff, who also have dependants,” he lamented.
He appealed to the government and other organisations to come to their aid to enable them to restart their businesses to take care of their families.
Fire officer
The Ashanti Regional Fire Officer, Mr Semekor Fiadzo, expressed disappointment at the layout of the place, which he said made fighting the fire very difficult.
He added that if his men had not arrived at the scene on time, the situation would have been more disastrous because the fire would have engulfed the entire area.
