General Secretary of the Kumasi Traders Association, Mr Reuben Armeh, has revealed that the fire system in the Kejetia Market is not fully functional, warning that, but for the intervention of traders, the fire outbreak at the market on Monday, April 20, 2026, would have been worse.
Speaking on the Orange Sunrise this morning, Mr Armeh explained that while the fire outbreak was successfully controlled yesterday, the Jockey Pump failed. He recounted that the jockey pump was not working on March 15, 2023, when fire ravaged certain parts of the market.
A jockey pump is a small, multi-stage centrifugal pump used in fire protection systems to maintain water pressure, preventing the main fire pump from starting unnecessarily. It compensates for minor leaks, keeping the system pressurised and ready.
” The fact of the matter is that yesterday, the jockey pump did not work; for a very long time now, the jockey pump has not been working. The first hydrant that we went to pick from had no water”, he stressed
Mr Armeh also attributed the recurrent fire incidents in the Kejetia market to what he calls the growing indiscipline of traders. He urged authorities to educate traders on how to prevent fire outbreaks, adding that there have been several unreported fire outbreaks in the Market this year.
“The indiscipline is becoming too much. We are not treating the market as our livelihoods, and that is where we live our lives”, he said.
Mr Armeh emphasised the need for authorities to enforce regulations and educate traders on chemical reactions that could cause fire.
” I am telling the authorities, both the fire service and the management, that if you don’t begin to educate us for all of us to fall in line, that if I am selling this product, I cannot bring them together over here; one day, we will be laughing at the wrong side of our mouths.
This comes after the Ghana National Fire Service managed to successfully put out a fire that engulfed a shop in the market in the early hours of yesterday, Monday, April 20, 2026.
By: Janice Opoku-Agyemang
