Fire destroys over 100 shops at Zamfara Central market
About 103 shops have been reportedly razed by fire which gutted the perishable items section of the Central Market, Gusau in Zamfara State. Although, the cause of the fire was not yet officially revealed, one of the firefighters linked it to an electric surge, saying the fire started shortly after electricity was restored to the […]
fire
About 103 shops have been reportedly razed by fire which gutted the perishable items section of the Central Market, Gusau in Zamfara State.
Although, the cause of the fire was not yet officially revealed, one of the firefighters linked it to an electric surge, saying the fire started shortly after electricity was restored to the market.
The fire was said to have started around 10:30 pm on Sunday and raged for hours before it was put out around 2am on Monday by men of the federal and Zamfara State fire services.
The chairman, Perishable Items Sellers Association, Alhaji Inusa Saminu, who spoke to our reporter on the phone, described the situation as devastating.
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“”We have counted 103 shops which were completely destroyed by the fire. We cannot estimate our losses for now but they run into millions of naira. There were stores, containing dried items which were reduced to ashes,” he said.
He blamed the escalation of the fire on the late response by the state fire service.
He said, “We have a fire service station not far from the market but when they were called, they told us the only vehicle in the station had been grounded for months.
“I don’t know the essence of building a fire service station at the market and they cannot provide it with functional vehicles and other equipment necessary for fighting fire.
“Even their headquarters complained of lack of battery in their vehicle when they were called upon. They had to borrow a battery and they did only one trip because the vehicle spoiled along the way.
“We are appealing to the state government to provide our firefighting stations with functional vehicles and equipment because this is the 6th market inferno recorded in the state and they were all devastating.”
He also appealed to government for assistance to traders who lost everything to the fire.
Another victim, Malam Tanimu, corroborated that goods worth millions of naira were destroyed in the market.
“I know four stores stocked with bags of rice and perishable items which were completely razed. I wonder how we are going to recoup our losses. I am sure many of us would not come back again,” he said.
One of the firefighters, who spoke on condition of anonymity, admitted that inadequate equipment was the reason they couldn’t response to the situation on time.
“We have a station at the market but its vehicle is grounded and our leaders are aware but nothing was done about it. It was the fire station at Gada biyu and the federal fire service that came to our rescue,” he said.
When contacted, the Director, Zamfara State Fire Service, Alhaji Jibo Dauran, said only the Executive Secretary of the agency, who was not in town on medical grounds, could speak on the situation.