Member of Parliament for Bantama, Francis Asenso-Boakye has visited the scene and victims of the fire outbreak at Race Course market in Kumasi, to acquaint himself with the extent of damage and console the affected traders.

The legislator and Minister for Works and Housing took several hours to tour the burnt portion of the market and interact with traders a few hours after the incident happened.

Over sixty shops containing varied items on sale at the Race Course market in the Bantama constituency were destroyed by an inferno in the early hours of Monday, 18th December 2023.

Personnel from the Ghana Fire Service with support from some of the traders spent hours to quench the conflagration.

It is suspected that the fire outbreak was caused by a gas cylinder explosion in one of the shops where a trader was cooking with an LPG cooker system.

Speaking with the traders during his visit, the Bantama MP, Asenso-Boakye assured the victims of his support to bring them back to the business line.

He pledged support for the victims as soon as the management of the market furnished his office with the extent of damage and the kind of support needed by the affected traders, he would quickly come in to help.

He counselled the traders and the general public to be cautious in handling fires during the harmattan season. He emphasised the need for LPG users to exercise great care when using it.

Mr Asenso-Boakye was not happy to note that some traders have installed gas cooker systems in the small shops, producing fire and cooking very close to combustible goods.

He urged the traders to eschew this practice as it is in the record to be the cause of fire outbreaks in most marketplaces.

Before he visited the Race Course market, Mr Asenso-Boakye and his entourage had over the weekend visited victims of domestic fire outbreaks in Adoato and North Suntreso communities in the Bantama constituency, where he also pledged support for the victims.

The Bantama Member of Parliament was accompanied to the Race Course market and victims of the domestic fire outbreaks, by the Executives of the New Patriotic Party in the constituency.