A devastating fire outbreak on Thursday night razed down five commercial container shops at Kasoa- Columba Junction in the Awutu Senya East Municipality of the Central Region, leaving destruction in its wake and causing the loss of goods worth millions of Ghana Cedis.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire started around 8:30 p.m. and raged on for more than two and a half hours. Despite the intensity of the blaze, it took the swift and determined efforts of local residents to bring the fire under control before fire service personnel arrived.

The affected shops included a provision store, a dressmaking shop, a pedicure salon, a hairdressing salon, and a bag shop.

All were completely consumed by the inferno.

Residents said several distress calls were made to the Kasoa, Budumburam, Weija, and Dansoman fire stations, but none could respond immediately due to reported malfunctioning fire tenders.

Eventually, a fire team from Anyaa managed to arrive at the scene, but by then, the worst damage had already been done.

Preliminary investigations suggest the fire may have originated from a provision shop before spreading to nearby containers.

An electrical fault is suspected to have triggered the blaze, although the exact cause is yet to be officially confirmed.

Class News reporter Samuel Addo spoke to some eyewitnesses who described the incident as heartbreaking and called for improved emergency response systems in the area to prevent future occurrences