Fire razes 34 shops in Yobe GSM Market

A fire outbreak on Tuesday razed 34 shops at the GSM market in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State, with goods worth N150 million reportedly destroyed. Daily Trust gathered that the incident happened at Abashawa ward of the market around buy was later put out by firefighters. Alhaji Malami Ali, the state chairman of GSM […]

A fire outbreak on Tuesday razed 34 shops at the GSM market in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State, with goods worth N150 million reportedly destroyed.

Daily Trust gathered that the incident happened at Abashawa ward of the market around buy was later put out by firefighters.

Alhaji Malami Ali, the state chairman of GSM Market and Parts said, ‘‘I wake up early morning to this development after they (traders in the market) called and briefed me about it

‘‘We gathered that this incident happened around 4:00 am but it took combined efforts of the personnel of the fire service and people from the neighborhood to put out the raging inferno.

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‘‘Honestly speaking, no one can tell you what caused the fire, because the shop where this fire started has no electricity connection but there is solar power.

‘‘So far, 34 shops have been destroyed by this inferno with property worth over N150 million because there are dealers, wholesalers, and retailers as well as stores.

‘‘We are calling on the government and relevant agencies to come to our aid because many of these traders and dealers have lost their wealth.’’

In his remark, the chairman of the Harmonized Traders Association Damaturu Local Government, Alhaji Ali Shareef, said the fire spread to other shops as a result of the faulty firefighter trucks.

‘‘The fire was triggered by high electricity voltage. When we came here, only three shops were affected but because of the faulty firefighter trucks and generators that will pump water to the affected shops, the fire spread to other shops. Alhamdulillah with the help of people, we were able to extinguish the fire.

‘‘This market has been witnessing cases of fire disaster due to our negligence and failure to put off our electrical appliances,’’ he said.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Yobe State Command, DSP Dungus Abdulkareem, in a statement said over 30 shops were completely burnt but no life was lost or injury sustained, noting that the cause of the fire was still unknown.