Fire guts Asawasi slum in Kumasi (video)

Fire yesterday gutted more than 200 structures at a Slum behind the Asawasi railway quarters in Kumasi, Ashanti region.

Properties running into hundreds of Ghana cedis were destroyed in the process but no casualties were reported because most of the slum dwellers had taken advantage of the festive season to engage in various types of trade outside.

The fire, which started at 6:40 p.m., raged on for almost 3 hours, rapidly sweeping through the wooden structures as personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) at Manhyia could not get access to the place.
The squatters were forced, under the circumstances, to improvise in fighting the fire by breaking down some of the structures and pouring water from a nearby gutter on the fire.

They had difficulty accessing water to bring the fire under control because some of the pipelines had been disconnected.

Most of the squatters were in town when the fire started but few who were around did their best to support the GNFS to control the fire.

Those who were in town rushed back to the slum when they heard the news, only to see their structures in ashes. Some of them, especially the women, were seen sobbing.

The few who were in their rooms when the fire started managed to retrieve some of their goods but attained minor injuries.
They were seen carrying their goods away from the direction of the fire, whiles some thieves took advantage of the sitution.

One of the victims, a woman told otec fm’s Derrick Ekuoba Gyasi that the fire destroyed everything she has including an amount of ghc7000 she had kept in her room.

Video below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdC1VNnVaHY&feature=youtu.be

Source: Derrick Ekuoba Gyasi (otec fm)