A late-night fire has destroyed more than 300 shops at the Suame Post Office Market in Ashanti Region, leaving traders and residents in shock.
The blaze, which started around 11 p.m. on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, spread rapidly after more than 30 gas cylinders exploded, fueling the inferno.
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined. Victims could only watch helplessly as their shops and goods were consumed by the flames.
Some nearby residents rushed to the scene and forced open shops around the market in a bid to salvage items before the fire reached them.
Traders and residents expressed anger over what they described as the late response of personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).
By the time fire engines arrived, much of the market had already been destroyed.
“We called for help earlier, but the fire service came late. By then, everything was gone,” one distraught eyewitness stated .
Speaking on Ghanakoma morning show on Akoma 87.9fm in Kumasi with Sir John, the Suame Municipal Chief Executive, Frank Owusu Ansah, directed the National Disaster Management Organisation ( NADMO) and the Suame Municipal Assembly to work out relief details for the affected traders whose stores were burnt down.
In a visit to the market Wednesday morning to acquaint himself with the situation after the incident, Mr. Owusu Ansah said the speedy compliance with the directive would enable the government to provide the needed support for the victims to start their business.
The fire scene presented a bitter sweet picture at the time of the visit. While some of the traders searched through the debris to retrieve undamaged goods, some scrap dealers were busy picking aluminium, copper and roofing sheets.
The traders lauded the MCE for visiting the scene, saying it is not something they anticipated.
He assured the affected traders that government would not neglect them, saying, “we will not turn our back on you.”
He said investigations would be conducted to establish the cause of the fire.
Over 50 wooden structures destroyed in gas cylinder-induced fire outbreak at Accra Arts Centre
By Benjamin Aidoo|AkomaFM|Kumasi
