Fire burnt an electrical and clothing shop at Kaneshie yesterday destroying almost all the items in it.
Though the cause of the fire was not immediately known, an eyewitness attributed it to unstable power supply.
It took personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) about 30 minutes to bring the situation under control.
Mr. Godwin Kusoribor, alias “Red”, said that he saw smoke coming from the ceiling of the store at about 6:00 am and raised the alarm, thus attracting the attention of by-standers.
He said he was quick to rush to the store and broke the lock of the shop with a hammer.
“When I managed to open the shop, I saw that some of the clothes on the shelves have started burning. I, then removed the items behind the gate but the fire immediately got out of control,” he said, adding that he notified his friend to call the GNFS.
A member of GNFS, who declined to disclose his identity, said they received a distress call around 7:09 am and the team arrived on the scene at exactly 7:11 am.
The personnel said by the time the GNFS arrived the scene, the shop was completely burnt and none of the items could be salvaged. Speaking to The Ghanaian Times, he attributed the cause of the fire outbreak to an electrical fault in the shop which was ignited suddenly when the lights came on.
Mrs. Bernice Yirenkyi, the owner of the shop, arrived later at the scene and stood in shock as she watched, at the remains of her shop. She was consoled by her husband, Mr. William Yirenkyi who spoke on her behalf.
“I do not work here. The shop belongs to my wife and I cannot estimate the cost of our loss but it is quite a lot of money. It will take us sometime to get back on our feet to operate another business,” he said.
No one was injured by the fire. However, five nearby shops, were mildly affected. The shops included a Forex Bureau, a jewellery store, an electrical appliance store and two shops which dealt in clothing and footwear.
The fire damaged the ceilings of these shops but the various items were not destroyed.
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