A one-storey building at Bompata in Kumas has completely been razed to the ground by fire outbreak destroying properties running into thousands of cedis.
The Wednesday dawn fire which lasted three hours, affected the entire seven shops and seven bedrooms of the building.
The fire was said to have started from one of the seven living rooms at the top floor and spread to the other rooms and the shops on the ground floor.
Passers-by and some commercial drivers around the fire scene intervened to douse the fire but their effort was fruitless.
Items destroyed included electrical appliances, wool, food items and personal belongings.
A victim, Stephen Addai, said he has lost not less than two hundred thousand Ghana cedis.
“All my investments are gone. Over ghc 200,000 worth of my electrical appliances have been destroyed”
Prince Bediako blamed personnel from the fire service for responding late despite series of calls.
“We called the KMA fire service around 1:00am but no one responded to the call. We drove to their office to inform them but they turned us away saying they’re not in charge of the area but we should rather go and report to Manhyia fire service division.
“By the time personnel from Manhyia division arrived at the scene, the fire had spread to all the rooms and shops in the building”, Bediako said.
Some victims were going through the debris.
Ashanti regional NADMO coordinator, Kwabena Senkyire said investigation is underway to ascertain the cause of the fire.
Meanwhile, NADMO has presented some relief items to the victims.
One person suspected to have sparked the fire is in the grips of the Zongo police to assist in investigation.
By Ibrahim Abubakar|3news.com|Ghana