Bamenda Main Market: Fire Rages through Shops
The fire incident considered one of the most devastating in the history of the North-West Region of Cameroon recently, this Thursday’s fire outbreak, has over hundreds of shops threatened to be reduced to ashes and more than 20 others already burned to ashes in what is clearly a very disheartening fire incident.
Tragedy
In tears many traders, and the population at large can be seen rushing helter-skelter around the scene of the fire outbreak.
Other shop owners without hope lament after watching first hand as their investments from many years hard work go down to ashes in less than three hours.
Intervention by Fire Fighters
The cause of the fire incident remains unknown at the moment, and firefighting units have been deployed to remedy the situation by putting off the fire, but the intensity of the fire appears to be uncontrollable and it is visibly going to take many more hours for it to be completely put out.
The Bamenda main market stands one of the biggest markets in the Region and it is of course the economic life line of the town.
Nuts and bolts
In the web of emotions, some traders blame the intensity of the flames to the multiple kiosk in every corner of the market. One of them shop owners while weeping says bitterly “I struggled to be inside this market, but they keep congesting the market, now I have lost all my goods in my shop, where do I begin from”.
Assets In Shreds
The anguish these traders express is real and according to an eye witness who says “the fire started around 4 pm (GMT +1) and extended wildly but insufficient water supply at the scene further compelled rescue efforts.”
Many of these traders have today lost millions of FCFA in the market.
