A scene at the market
Fire gutted the Esiama improvised market along the Esiama-Elubo highway in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region last Thursday, destroying property worth thousands of Ghana cedis.
Although there were no casualties, about four container shops were destroyed by the fire which started at about 3:30 pm.
Most of the burnt shops belonged to traders who deal in mobile phones, assorted drinks and second-hand television sets.
Reports suggest that inferno was caused by an electrical fault at the market.
When DAILY GUIDE visited the ravaged portion of the market, the affected people were busily trying to salvage what they could lay their hands on.
Members of the public, with assistance from some commercial drivers operating in the area, helped the victims to gather the debris.
Human traffic mounted along the road when anxious residents of Esiama and its environs stormed the place to watch proceedings.
DAILY GUIDE gathered that though personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service responded on time, they found it difficult quenching the fire on time.
An eyewitness told DAILY GUIDE that the Fire Service could not quench the fire on time due to the lack of access routes.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Ellembelle Daniel Eshun, as well as some officials from the assembly were at the scene to access the extent of the damage.
It would recalled that last Saturday, the chiefs and people of Esiama held a press conference and accused the Ellembelle DCE of selling a parcel of land earmarked for the construction a modern market and a lorry station to private developers.
At the press conference, the chief of Esiama, Nana Kofi Ampoe IV, indicated that because there was no proper market and lorry station at Esiama, both traders and commercial vehicles had to fight for space along the Esiama-Elubo highway to transact business.
He added that in the event of disaster, people may lose their lives.
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