KMA Boss urges fire safety training after China City Mall inferno

By Elizabeth PUNSU, Kumasi

The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) Chief Executive, Richard Ofori Agyeman Boadi, has announced plans to collaborate with the Fire Service to conduct training sessions for workers in large shops, supermarkets, and malls on how to use fire extinguishers effectively.

This comes on the back of a devastating fire which razed a China City Mall, at Star Junction Santasi, a suburb of Kumasi.

The incident reportedly began late Thursday afternoon, sending thick plumes of smoke into the sky.

The facility which was opened to the general public barely six months  ago got completely burnt down to ashes in the devastating fire.

No casualties were recorded, however, goods and items worth several millions of cedis were destroyed even though there were several attempts by staff to douse the fire.

A security guard on duty at the time recalled  to the B&FT how quickly the fire escalated.

“We saw smoke coming from the area where we display mattresses and wardrobes. At first, we thought it was a piece of burnt cigarette, but within seconds, the smoke became thick and the entire floor was on fire,” he said.

He added that most of the mall’s workers were on the ground floor at the time. Despite having fire extinguishers, staff members struggled to control the blaze.

“We tried using the fire extinguishers, but it didn’t help. The fire was too strong, and we didn’t know the proper way to handle it,” he said.

In a reaction  to this, the KMA boss emphasised the urgent need for discussions with foreign business owners, particularly Chinese nationals who operate several commercial facilities in Kumasi, to ensure safety standards are met.

“This facility was barely six months old. We need to engage with their embassies to ensure designated smoking areas are provided and fire safety measures are strictly enforced,” he said.

Mr. Boadi further expressed concern about challenges faced by emergency services in reaching the site quickly.

“People and drivers must always give way to emergency vehicles like fire tenders. If our firefighters had easier access, the situation could have been different,” he said.

GNFS swift response

Meanwhile, speaking to journalists at the fire scene,  Ashanti Regionional Chief Fire Officer, ACFO Peter Tetteh,  indicated that the GNFS  received a distress call at 3:19 pm., and by 3:31pm, the first fire tender from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) Fire Station had arrived at the scene.

“When our men got there, the fire had already spread throughout the building. It was at an advanced stage, so we began fighting it from the front of the structure,” ACFO Tetteh said.

He told reporters that  the blaze began on the first floor, which served as the showroom for furniture, and spread rapidly due to the highly combustible materials stored inside. The building’s construction materials, which were not concrete, also contributed to the fast spread of the flames.

The first fire crew from KATH later called in three additional fire tenders to assist in containing the inferno, which continued to burn for several hours.

The Ghana National Fire Service has since launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.

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