Lapaz Market Catches Fire, Leaves Shop Owner Helpless

• A distressing fire outbreak has destroyed a shop at the Lapaz Market in the Greater Accra region
• Reports indicate that the shop owners who became victims of the incident on April 27 tried to gain the attention of the Fire Service for more than an hour
• A video of an aggrieved victim in shock after seeing her shop on fire has triggered many Ghanaians online

A fire outbreak has been reported at the Lapaz Market in Accra.

The incident confirmed by Ghana Web is said to have happened after midday on Sunday, April 27, 2025.

A video sighted by YEN.com.gh captured a shop caught in the fire with the menacing flames extending to other shops on the floor.

Details about the cause of the incident and its damage have yet to be confirmed.

The fire incident came after the Electricity Company of Ghana blamed widespread power outages in several parts of the country on a heavy rainstorm the day before.

ECG issued a statement on April 26, 2025, saying that the heavy downpour had disrupted its distribution network.

Victim of Lapaz Fire accident in shock

In a video sighted by YEN.com.gh, a woman was captured being whisked away by onlookers.

The woman was visibly shocked as she helplessly watched her shop flame up. Eyewitnesses claimed that fire service personnel were not at the site an hour after the fire started.

GhanaWeb also confirmed that the fire service had delayed attending to the fire incident.

Market fires in Ghana in 2025

The Lapaz fire incident follows a string of market fires that have hit the nation since the start of 2025.

In January, a devastating fire that engulfed Kantamanto Market in Accra's Central Business District claimed one life and left 14 others seriously injured. Goods and property worth millions of cedis were destroyed, with many traders losing their businesses.

Weeks later, fire swept through the Kwadaso Wood Market in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region and the Techiman Market in the Bono East Region, destroying goods worth hundreds of thousands of cedis.

More recently, on Friday, March 21, 2025, a similar accident happened at Adum. The fire, which raged on for almost 24 hours ravaged the Bluelight area of Adum, leaving traders counting many losses.

Following the incident, there was a huge outpouring of support for the traders with President John Mahama, former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and other prominent people visiting the site in solidarity with the traders. Others a also donated cash amounts and building materials to support rebuilding efforts.

Ghanaians react to the Lapaz Fire incident

The situation about the Lapaz Fire incident devastated many Ghanaians, especially considering the series of fire-related accidents recorded in the first quarter of the year.

@Adamantvoices lamented the effects of the fires on youth employment:

"This thing is killing is us o is not easy to raise money and set up a business anymore o what at all have we done Ghana youths ."

@clapped4k attributed the cause of the fire to unstable electricity:

"If the dumsor nor go shun…God have mercy, the fire outbreaks de3 we yet to see them oo."

@No_Ohia wondered why these fires were happening under John Mahama's term:

"Why Mahama he get beef plus fire outbreaks? Cos chale 4 months into Government I no fit count the number of fire outbreaks wey happen for this country."

@highness_eighty called for extra transformers for Lapaz:

"Is the light system at the shops at lapaz this is just the beginning.if the don’t bring extra transformers to supply the area."

@ThemGoTalk1 lamented about the absence of an ambulance:

"By now, the ambulance still hasn’t arrived, and even if it did, good luck getting through. There’s no proper layout for them to pass. Looks like fire is the least of their worries."

University of Ghana suffers fire outbreak

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that a fire destroyed properties at one of the University of Ghana's directorates.

The National Fire Service had personnel on hand to fight the inferno, but the damage had already been done.

The fire at the UG directorate on February 26, 2025, reportedly destroyed property worth thousands of cedis.

Source: YEN.com.gh