Kantamanto: 4 Other Times The Popular Second-hand Goods Market Was Devastated By Fire
As traders in Kantamanto rebuild after a devastating fire razed the popular market, YEN.com.gh looks back at five other massive fires from which the second-hand goods hub recovered.
Traders are cleaning up after a fire devastated Kantamanto, known as one of Ghana's biggest second-hand clothes markets.
Thousands of traders’ stalls were destroyed in the blaze that started at about 10 pm on January 1 and consumed large sections of Kantamanto market in Accra, Ghana’s capital.
Source: Getty Images
Market fires are a regular occurrence because of poor safety standards. A Ghana National Fire Service spokesperson, Alex King Nartey, noted to YEN.com.gh that safety recommendations are consistently ignored.
Nartey also noted cooking in markets, poor wiring and the non-maintenance of fire hydrants as big problems.
"Most of the time, we recommend the establishment of fire posts within markets to protect the market in case of fire. Cooking in markets is one of the reasons we have recorded a lot of fire outbreaks. As we are even fighting fires, a lot of gas explosions went off."
Notable fires that have rocked Kantamanto Market
1. November 19, 2022
A fire outbreak on November 29, 2022, at the Kantamanto Market destroyed goods and shops worth thousands of cedis.
The cause of the fire that gutted more than 15 shops near the railway line at the market centre was undisclosed.
Additional reports suggested that the Ghana National Fire Service could not stop the blaze after running out of water.
2. December 15, 2020
An evening fire struck Kantamanto on December 15, 2020. Reports indicated that onlookers had to run to the nearby fire station to request help.
Following this fire, traders rejected the government's offer to temporarily relocate them to the Accra Railway Station car park to ply their trade.
They opposed the arrangement suggested by officials because they feared they would not be allowed back into the market later on.
Some of the traders, dressed in red, gathered in protest at the time to drum home their concerns to the government.
3. September 17, 2023
A fire on September 17, 2023, gutted several shops at CMB, Kantamanto in Accra, destroying goods worth millions of Ghana cedis.
The cause of the fire, which started around 5:00 am on Sunday, was not ascertained. Firefighters from the Ghana National Fire Service were quickly dispatched to the scene, but the fire had already spread to several shops before they arrived.
By the time it was put out, several shops had been completely destroyed by the fire.
Some of the traders at the market expressed their frustration and disappointment at the incident, and many of them stated that they had lost everything.
4. May 5, 2013
The May 2013 fire affected over 2,000 traders. Though it did not result in human casualties, conservative estimates suggested that the fire destroyed property and goods worth tens of millions of cedis.
Following the incident, through the Micro-finance and Small Loans Centre, the government presented a cheque for GH¢1,465,035 to 800 victims.
Stanbic Bank Ghana also wrote off the debt of 14 victims who had benefited from its small and medium enterprise (SME) quick loans product.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
