A chain of mechanic shops has been ravaged by fire at Asokwa in the Ashanti region last night.

At least, six vehicles, several engines and upholstery materials were destroyed.

Shop owners started counting their losses moments after the Fire Service, supported by the National Disaster Management Organization brought the situation under control.

It is not clear what started the fire.

A JoyNews team returning from a trip to Obuasi stopped over and called the Fire Service hotline for intervention.

Shop owners hailed the swift response from personnel of the fire service who arrived at the scene after six minutes.

“When your call came around 21:35 pm, they were able to make it within 5 minutes, that’s by 21:38, they got here. And the whole magic was that because, around that time, there wasn’t much traffic along the line.

"And because of that they were able to get here at the appropriate time,” Divisional Officer Grade II, Nicholas Opoku Aikins, the Regional Operations Officer of the Fire Service said.

Their intervention was boosted by a sudden downpour in the area.

Divisional Officer Grade II, Nicholas Opoku Aikins is the Regional Operations Officer of the Fire Service.

“We’ve accessed the devastation over here; you could see that now the place is dark so we can’t come out with the actual cause of the fire right now. So tomorrow early in the morning, the crew that was on duty will come and assess everything and look at the probable causes of the fire.”

According to Mr. Aikins, the rains and free flow of traffic affected the work of the Fire Service positively.

“Generally, when it rains, it reduces the extent of fire spread because anytime the rainwater fall on the fire, it evaporates and the atmosphere becomes humid and humid atmosphere does not also support combustion.”

Meanwhile, the mechanics have started counting their losses.

Richard Appiah Kubi is one of the affected fire victims. He is the local chairman of artisans in the area.

“I was so disturbed when someone called to inform me on phone of the fire incident,” he said.

“Among the burnt items are all types of vehicle engines. These are engines and cars of different made that belong to us and our customers.

Some are also spare parts and vehicles that have been burnt beyond repair. Those vehicles we’ve lost to the fire are the latest model of Honda SUV, Toyota Corolla, Nissan Pick Up, Yarris, and many others.”