A fire outbreak has destroyed seven stores in Tumu in the Sissala East Municipality, burning grains, cement, cash and other valuables worth over GHC 4 million.

The incident, which occurred late on Thursday night, affected two business partners, Mr Iddrisu Braimah Kanton, 37 years; and Mr Kajia Duabadi, 33-year-old, the owners of the shop.

The fire consumed large quantities of goods including over 1,000 bags of maize, 1,000 bags of soya beans, 300 bags of sesame, nearly 3,000 bags of cement, as well as furniture, swimming equipment and borehole pipes.

Mr Kanton told the GNA that he was asleep when he received a distress call around 1000 hours, informing him that his shops were on fire.

He said he immediately called the Ghana National Fire Service, which came to the scene.

According to him, unfortunately, the fire tender was out of service at the time, forcing personnel to rely on portable fire extinguishers, which were inadequate to contain the raging flames.

The residents and the youth in the area attempted to assist using water from tractors and boreholes, but their efforts could not stop the fire from spreading to all the shops.

The victims also disclosed that a substantial amount of money withdrawn from the bank just a day before the incident had been kept in one of the shops, which was destroyed in the fire.

Mr Kanton said cash losses alone were estimated to be around GHC one million, with total damages running into GHC four million.

Eyewitnesses say the fire raged from about 2200 hours until the early hours of the following day, drawing large crowds of onlookers as the business owners watched helplessly.

Speaking on the incident to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), DO3 Tierku Gordon, the Sissala East Municipal Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service, explained that the service received a distress call around 2240 hours, and quickly mobilised to the scene.

However, by the time officers arrived, the fire had already reached the developed stage, making it extremely difficult to control with the limited equipment available.

Mr Gordon said they tried to cut off the power supply to the area immediately they got there using other means since their appliance was out of commission.

Mr Tierku Gordon explained that the absence of a fire tender during the recent incident was due to serious mechanical faults that had rendered the appliance immovable.

According to him, the fire tender had been out of commission since the 16th of this month after developing multiple defects, including a broken axle spring, a damaged centre bolt, and misaligned rear tyres, which made it unsafe to operate.

He noted that the condition of the vehicle posed a significant risk, as it could lose control if driven over a bump.

He attributed the fire outbreak to a possible electrical fault, charging of weighing scales or cooking.

Both the Member of Parliament for Sissala East Mr Mohammed Issah Bataklia and Mr Adamu Yakubu the Municipal Chief Executive visited the scene of the fire to assess and commiserate with the victims and promised to work with the fire service to get the tender back on track quickly.