Dome Market Fire: Traders suspect arson

Aggrieved traders who were affected by last night’s fire outbreak at the Dome Market in Accra have alleged that there was deliberate attempt to burn down particular stalls resulting in the inferno.

Market stalls, shops and other structures in the Dome Market were consumed by fire believed to have begun a few minutes after 7 pm on Wednesday evening.

The turnout not only left shop owners in shock at the suddenness but the loss of thousands of cedis and their source to livelihood.

A trader said they had suspicions of arson, as a child reported seeing a mysterious woman light a match in one of the stalls, an action that is believed to have caused the inferno.

In an interview with www.ghanaweb.com, the traders said, “I came to meet the market burning after I received a call informing me of the incident. All we heard was that, a child spotted a woman who had covered her head and face with a cloth, lighting a match in one Aunt Sandra’s container. According to Auntie Sandra they have already lost several of their belongings to a fire outbreak on three different occasions due to a dispute with one queen mother. All those involved in a dispute with the queen mother lost all their belongings in the fire.”

“The one who caused the first fire outbreak, a lady, was always in the market saying, “I burnt it, I burnt it” and nobody paid attention to her,” he added.

One other trader who seemed have heard similar reports also narrated that, “according to sources, someone saw a small child burning refuse which must have caused the outbreak”.

Another said, “The things we have seen in Dome Market, only God knows. It’s been about three years since this market place last got burnt. This place has seen about 3 fire outbreaks and we don’t know what caused the fire. They started burning from the stalls on this side. The MCE was here yesterday, and when they left some of the traders encouraged others to go sit by the roadside and sell their products otherwise the worst will happen. And true to their words, about 7:00 pm yesterday we heard of the fire outbreak”.

They have since called on stakeholders and the Dome-Kwabenya Constituency to work earnestly towards bringing the perpetrators to book.