A devastating fire has destroyed more than 500 shops at Shuwaki Market in Gari Local Government Area of Kano State, according to the Kano State Fire Service.
In a statement released by the Public Relations Officer of the Service, ACFO Saminu Yusif Abdullahi, the incident occurred around 3:25 p.m. on Wednesday.
Abdullahi said the control room received a distress call from Commander Abdulmalik Muhammed of the Gari Fire Station, who reported a fire outbreak at the market. Firefighters from the Danbatta Fire Station were immediately dispatched to the scene.
“The crew on duty from the Danbatta Fire Station was immediately dispatched to the scene. On arrival, they found that the market — measuring about 3,000 by 2,500 feet with approximately 1,000 temporary stalls, was engulfed in flames. About 529 stalls were completely burnt to the ground,” he stated.
He explained that the firefighters were able to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to other sections of the market.
“One jet from Comm 9 was used during the operation,” the statement said.
Mr Abdullahi confirmed that no lives were lost in the incident but attributed the cause of the fire to the activities of some drunkards residing within the market premises.
He further cautioned residents to always handle fire and flammable materials with utmost care to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.
