Timely intervention of the men of fire service in Niger State saved the entire Kure ultra modern market from being completely razed down as they arrived timely to save what would have been a disaster of great proportion.
The fire, which started at about 9pm Monday night, according to eyewitness, Ala Owerri, would have consumed the entire market and the nearby residential area if not the quick intervention of men of the state Fire Service.
Though the immediate cause of the fire could not be ascertained, investigations revealed that it was caused by an unquenched charcoal-fire kept inside one of the shops owned by a woman who fries yam and bean cake for sale.
One of the shop owners who gave her name as Mrs. Yemisi Bolaji said, “I just bought my goods over the weekend. I sell clay pots, traditional medicines and I am supposed to supply people who requested and paid for these goods.
“My goods are worth almost five hundred thousand naira (N500, 000). I am so confused and I need help because some people have paid for the goods that are now destroyed by the fire”.
Another shop owner, who simply gave his name as Abubakar said, “The goods destroyed by the fire were worth more than four million (N4, 000, 000). Everything is gone because I left the money from sales last week and on Monday inside the shop and they are all burnt too”.
It was however wailing and anguish as others who could not bear their loss just kept lamenting, “My money is gone; I bought these goods on credit; what do I do? Please, government should come and help us”.
Meanwhile, the head of the Kure ultra modern market authority, Alhaji Ado Garba, recalled how after finishing his 8pm prayers, he got a call from the security men guarding the market about few minutes to 9pm and he immediately alerted the fire service men who responded swiftly.
The cause of the fire cannot be ascertained now until thorough investigations, Garba said, adding however that the cause of the fire cannot be far-fetched from either stove and an unquenched coal that may have been locked up in one of the shops where the fire emanated from.
The Officer in Charge of Fire Service at the market, Malam Mayaki Umar, also confirmed to our correspondent that they invited the fire fighters to the market immediately they heard the bad news.
Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NISEMA) official, Mallam Salihu Garba, who was at the scene of the disaster, said that the agency knew about the outbreak at about 10pm and rushed down to monitor evacuation, coordinate search-and rescue-activities.
Garba said, “All the security outfits were on ground; thank God we were able to curtail the fire incidence, and so far only 15 shops in Block J-06 were badly affected but we cannot ascertain the cause of the fire now.
“There was no electric light connected to the affected block and so, electric power upsurge is completely ruled out but we are still trying to find out a particular source of fire, could be from one shop we learnt they fry foods. The fire may not have been properly put off before close of market”.
