The fire cases range from domestic to industrial and bushfires. Five persons died from fire outbreaks in March 2023.
The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) District Fire Commander, DOIII Simon Ben Boadu speaking at the 6th International Safety Conference and Awards organized by the Occupational Safety and Health Association in Kumasi said the region recorded 178 fire outbreaks in January 2023.
"We had 178 fire outbreaks in the month of January 2023 and out of these, 178, we had 71 as domestic fires, 1 as industrial fires, 66 from bush fires, 20 as commercial fires, 10 electrical fires, 8 institutional fires, 2 from refuse dump fires," he said.
Also, "in the month of February, we had 131. Out of this 131, 38 came out as domestic fires, 4 as industrial fires, 40 from bush fires, 18 commercial fires, 9 as electrical fires, 2 as institutional fires, and 11 as vehicular fires."
DOIII Boadu said: "We have not ended March so as of now we have 60 outbreaks out of these statistics we’ve recorded 5 deaths."
Kumasi is noted for continuous fire outbreaks at the market centers.
On March 15, 2023, parts of the new Kejetia market in Kumasi have been ramped in a fire outbreak.
The fire outbreak has already ravaged a section of the market known by locals as Dubai, leading to massive loss of properties.
It has been reported that the woman who allegedly caused the Kumasi Kejetia market fire has been arrested.
The suspect identified as a 60-year-old woman (name withheld), was reportedly arrested on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
The woman who deals in rubber mats has been assisting the investigations of the police and fire service.