Fire Guts Odawna Market In Accra Circle

The Odwana Market at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra has been gutted by fire for the fifth time.

The fire which started at Wednesday dawn, burnt almost all shops in the market.

Personnel from the fire service were able to bring the fire under control.

This incident according to eyewitnesses began at about 1am this dawn.

The fire which raged on for hours, left residents of the area and shop owners at the market, also known as the Pedestrian Shopping Mall, in shock.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Plan B FM spoke to an eye witness at the scene who said the fire service, even though were quick to respond to the scene, the entrance of the market had been blocked, making it impossible for the fire tender to move to where the fire was.

He explained that when the personnel from the fire service got in touch with the market women to move their items, they refused to allow the men in the area to assist.

In an interview with the secretary of the market women, Mrs. Bernice Naana Clotey, she said she got to the scene at about 2am but could not tell the actual cause of the fire.

She added that, information disclosed to her was that the fire started in only one shop but security men at the market feared to open the market because unknown men were around at the moment. 

She then called on the government and other institutions to come to their aid and assist them get back on their feet.

“we know we are getting into election year, but we plead with the government to kindly come to our aid to support us in our business because it’s a huge blow to us,” she said.

One of the shop owners also disclosed that, she was stopped from entering the market by the security men when she got to the scene.

“When I got here, my shop was not gutted by fire yet, so I tried to go into the market and remove some items from the shop but I was stopped by the fire personnel at the scene from entering the market,” She added. 

In January 2019, about 80 stalls got destroyed after a fire outbreak at the market. No deaths were recorded last year however, assorted goods belonging to market women perished.