A devastating fire outbreak has razed at least fifty shops in parts of the Dome market, causing significant losses to traders and property owners.
The incident occurred in the late hours of Sunday, January 7, 2024, around 9:30 pm. The cause of the fire remains unknown and is currently under investigation, according to ADOII Alex Nartey from the Public Relations Department at the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) Headquarters.
Speaking with Citi News, Nartey highlighted the challenges faced by the firefighting team, stating that the market's congestion hindered their efforts to control the blaze effectively. Despite the obstacles, the GNFS managed to bring the fire under control.
“There was a lot of obstruction. Lack of accessibility was a big challenge for our work. Our appliance couldn't even get through where the actual fire was. We had to park somewhere quite far from the fire scene and then drag our hoses through to the fire scene, so it was quite a challenge for us. But from 9:30 to 3:30, we were able to extinguish the fire to prevent any casualties.”
Nartey noted that while the fire resulted in the loss of at least 50 shops, the firefighters were able to salvage properties worth over $500.
“As it stands now, we recorded 50 losses with the shops and other stores that were there, but we were able to salvage items worth over $500 from being affected by the fire.”
Highlighting a critical issue in the community, Nartey called on the government and local authorities in Dome and its environs to prioritize fire safety. He emphasized that the lack of a fire station in the area hampered their response time.
“This is a call to the assemblies there to prioritize fire safety because the unfortunate thing is that there is not a single fire station in this area; Dome and Taifa area. If the assembly or the government had set up a fire station there and we had taken personnel there and appliances, I'm sure our response would have been shorter to avert this kind of loss.”
