2 injured, property destroyed as fire ravages Elmina fishing market

Two persons have sustained injuries and property running into thousands of cedis destroyed after fire ravaged the Mpobeng Fishing Market at Elmina.

According to one of the victims, he and his other colleague were transferring premix fuel into a canoe when fire suddenly engulfed it.

He, however, could not tell the cause of the fire.

Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) at the Elmina and the University of Cape Coast (UCC) fire stations were dispatched to the scene to help douse the fire.
According to the Central Regional GNFS PRO, DOIII Hudu, upon arrival, the crew observed the fire had engulfed a wooden shed that harbored premixed fuel and other fishing gear.
He narrated that; “the firefighters immediately started defending the Kakum Rural Bank which was right next to the shed on fire. The fire was brought under control after about 35 minutes and finally got extinguished.”

The GNFS PRO, however, intimated part of the roof of the bank was burnt and the heat from the fire visibly affected the walls.
2 injured, property destroyed as fire ravages Elmina fishing market The items damaged included some quantity of fish, about 10 drums of premix fuel, a canoe, power generator and other household belongings.

One fishmonger recounted: we have lost a lot to this fire. When it happened, some unscrupulous people also stole our money. We are calling for support to help us survive this.”
One person was seriously injured and was rushed to the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital while the other who was got mildly injured is being treated.Municipal Chief Executive for the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem Municipality, Nana Appiah Korang commended the Fire Service for their proactive approach.

He says the service has been educating the people on fire safety and the need for the people to take precautionary measures.

The Assembly, he indicates, will continue their sensitisation drive on the prevention of fires.“We aren’t going to allow people to fry things at these fish markets again otherwise, we may not,” he added.

The Central Regional PRO of the GNFS says there has been several engagements with the fishing communities on the storage and safety of premix fuel, especially, in Elmina.

More fire safety education, he avers, has been organised several times including one that was organised late last year just to help prevent these kinds of incidents.

Investigations into the cause of incident is underway.