The Ashanti Regional Fire Officer, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Mr. Obeng Dankwa Dwamena, has expressed concern about the difficulty his outfit encounters in having access to trouble spots during fire outbreaks, particularly at the Kumasi Central Market. He told The Chronicle that besides the difficulty in getting access to the market, fire hydrants at the market were not easily accessible. DCF Dankwa Dwamena, who could not tell off-hand the number of fire hydrants at the disposal of the Ghana National Fire Service in the metropolis, said there were sufficient fire hydrants dotted in and around the Kumasi Central Market and other parts of the metropolis, except that most of them were not functioning. According to him, either the fire hydrants have been concealed by the erection of structures by traders at the market, or there were no access roads, due to congestion. In the face of the situation, the fire officer feared that more losses could be registered in case of a fire outbreak if nothing is done to decongest the market, and make it more accessible than it presently is. He appealed to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) and the Ghana Water Company to make sure that fire hydrants are properly sited and identified, when it comes to reconstructing the market, as a major step towards avoiding the recurrence of fire disasters at the markets. Sources close to the KMA indicate that the previous administration of the KMA had budgeted for, and funded the construction of as many as 130 fire hydrants, in and around the Kumasi Central Market, but only a few were functioning, provided they were even accessible. Source: Chronicle