Disaster struck traders and residents of Sodom and Gomorrah last Thursday, when fire gutted portions of the sprawling slum in Accra.
The Thursday fire was not the first to have hit the area as in the not-too-distant past, several fires have destroyed properties running into millions of Ghana cedis.
The fire disaster came as a big surprise to many since it was believed that an antidote had been found to the frequent fire outbreaks that have destroyed trading posts across the country.
Many people, especially traders and district assemblies, have lost very valuable properties to bushfires.
In the heat of the fire outbreaks, the government also invited fire experts from the United States of America (USA) to help it unravel the reasons behind the menace. Ghanaians do not know the outcome of the investigations because it has not been made public but many are of the opinion that with the lull in the outbreaks, perhaps certain steps had been taken by the authorities to stem the frequent outbreaks.
Last Thursday’s disaster only shows that we are not out of the woods yet. Our markets are still vulnerable. We expected that because of the pain caused to victims of the fires, the authorities were taking steps to secure our markets.
If for nothing at all, we have one example in Accra to learn from and that is the Kaneshie Market that has never been gutted by fire. We believe that the authorities there are enforcing fire safety and other standards.
Many of our markets do not conform to any standards. The electrical wiring has not been properly done, there are no access routes, and the traders disregard rules not to cook in the markets.
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has carried out some public education and provided the district assemblies with guidelines to regulate activities in our markets. Unfortunately, these guidelines are ignored by the regulatory authorities such as the district assemblies that are supposed to enforce the laws.
The market fires will not stop if we continue to cook in the markets, expose electrical wires or use sub-standard cables in the markets and do not provide routes in the markets; fire service personnel can do very little to save our property in that instance.
The Daily Graphic once again appeals to all traders to respect the bye-laws of the assemblies and desist from cooking in the markets and using sub-standard electrical cables to wire their shops in order to reduce the high incidence of fire outbreaks in the country.
We plead with all; traders, district assemblies, fire personnel and the government to do all it takes to reduce the pain and hazards of market fires on the victims and the economy.
