Occupants of shops around the Blue Light Area of the Adum Market in Kumasi have been directed by the National Disaster Management and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly to evacuate.

According to a report by myjoyonline.com sighted by GhanaWeb, the order is to pave the way for the construction of a pathway following the fire outbreak on Friday, March 21, 2025.

Occupants of buildings adjoining and around the scene have been given a two-day ultimatum, following which a demolition exercise will commence.

On Friday, a fire broke out at Adum Market, located in the heart of Kumasi's Central Business District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The blaze started in the early morning, around 6:00 AM, and rapidly spread through a multi-storey commercial building, engulfing shops selling mobile phones, accessories, jewellery, clothing, and used goods.

The exact cause remains under investigation by the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), which has been at the scene since the outbreak.

Firefighters faced challenges in containing the blaze due to the market's congested layout and limited access routes, with narrow alleyways and closely packed wooden structures hampering their efforts. The GNFS deployed multiple fire tenders, but the highly combustible materials in the shops fueled the inferno's rapid spread.

President John Dramani Mahama has since visited the scene and assured the affected traders of his government's support.

The incident comes a few months after a similar event at the Kantamanto Market in Accra, where several shops dealing in secondhand clothing were razed down by fire.

GA

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