Thousands of stalls were salvaged and no casualties recorded after the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) successfully contained and extinguished a major fire outbreak at the Kasoa New Market on Sunday, January 4, 2026.
The GNFS said it received a distress call at 4:50pm, with the first fire tender from the Kasoa Fire Station arriving at the scene eight minutes later to find the fire already at an advanced stage.
Due to the rapid spread of the blaze, reinforcements were immediately called in from Weija, Anyaa, Dansoman, Industrial Area, Flagstaff House, Madina and Swedru fire stations.
In all, eight fire engines were deployed; six from the Greater Accra Region and two from the Central Region. Firefighters managed to confine the fire at 6:52pm, brought it under control at 7:52pm, and fully extinguished it by 10:00pm.
Although several metallic shops and wooden stalls were destroyed, along with food items such as maize, beans, shea butter, spices and other merchandise, the swift response by firefighters prevented the blaze from consuming the entire market.
GNFS officials say thousands of metal container shops and stalls, together with their contents, were saved.
Firefighting operations were, however, hampered by poor accessibility within the market, long distances to reliable water sources and interference from members of the public at various points during the operation.
The incident marks the second major fire outbreak at the Kasoa New Market within the past two years, though at different sections of the market.
Fire tenders from Kasoa and Swedru have been left on standby to prevent any possible re-ignition, while investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.
