Firefighters are battling a huge blaze which has swept through the top floor of a two-storey building near Aboabo station in the Ashanti Regional capital Kumasi.

The fire started just before 11 am Sunday when most of the shops had been closed, witnesses told dailymailgh.com’s Jonathan Ofori.

Thick smoke was seen billowing into the clouds as locals defy safety protocols to aid firefighters to douse the flame, reported Jonathan.

“I have lost almost everything”, said a 65-year-old merchant who sells plastic chairs worth thousands of cedis.

At least five fire machines have been deployed to the scene to prevent the fire from spreading to other nearby shops at the enclave.