A/R: Welder arrested over fire outbreak at Kumasi Kejetia Market

The Ghana Police Service has arrested a welder named Nana Williams Kwame Fordjour. He is accused of causing a fire at the Kumasi Kejetia Market in the Ashanti Region.

Fordjour was hired by market management to weld and lock shops. These shops belonged to traders who had not paid service fees. While working on one shop that owed GHS 1,200, his welding sparked a fire. This fire destroyed the shop and its contents, worth thousands of Ghana cedis.

Firefighters patrolling the market quickly controlled the fire. Their swift action prevented it from spreading to other shops.

Desmond Opoku, a night security supervisor at the market, spoke to Kumasi FM’s Elisha Adarkwah. He said his team noticed the fire during their patrol. Opoku confirmed that Fordjour was working on the affected shop. However, he noted that they were unaware of any authorization from management for this work.

Saddick Ahmed is the Health, Safety, and Environment Manager of the market. He stated that although Fordjour may have been hired, he did not issue a permit for this job. Ahmed added that investigations will determine if Fordjour had proper authorization or acted without it.

ADOI Ebenezer Opoku is the Fire Officer in Charge of the Market. He confirmed Fordjour's arrest and said investigations are underway to find out how the fire started.

Meanwhile, the affected trader has asked for support from both the government and market management to help rebuild their business.