ANY LESSIONS FROM FIRE DISASTERS AT MARKETS? (PAGE 30)

RECENTLY, the Takoradi market has been rocked by devastating fire outbreaks.
However, it seems as if the traders have not learnt any lessons from their experience.
The spaces between the sheds at the Takoradi Central Market are so small that at some points two people walking in opposite directions cannot by-pass each other.
In the recent fire disaster what one fire engine could contain in less than between 10 to 15 minutes, according to the fire experts, lasted for hours because the fire engines could not make it to the centre of the market where the fire started.
Because of this difficulty most traders watched, helplessly as their goods were consumed by fire.
The city authorities should have taken a cue from what happened at the market to move in immediately to decongest the market irrespective of what perceptions residents might have.
Although the Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Philip Kwesi Nkrumah and his team tried to save the situation, the beneficiaries sadly and fiercely resisted the move by the assembly.
The assembly then promised to rebuild the Takoradi Central Market and work should have begun in January this year.
Unfortunately work is yet to start on the construction of a new market which is expected to have facilities like banks, schools, a modern shopping mall and car park.
At the moment the congestion is worse, and if there is another outbreak of fire at the Takoradi Market, the consequences would be disastrous.
The damage to property at the market in the previous outbreaks would have been reduced if the managers of the market had not allowed unauthorised structures to be erected.
This is because the original design of the Takoradi Central Market had a good layout; vehicles could enter to the market and offload goods, but gradually and without anticipating the consequences of their action many traders have constructed unauthorised structures on the roads in the market.
This makes it impossible for vehicles to enter the market and the area around the market, which was supposed to be a car park, is presently being occupied by hawkers.
The Public Relations Officer of the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, Mr John Laste, confirmed that the assembly promised that work on the new market would begin in January this year.
“I can assure you that the project is still dear to the heart of the assembly, but there are processes that we have to go through and also we need to select a suitable design,” he said.