A fire outbreak destroyed around 150 shops at the well-known “Yan Katako” market in Sabon Gari, Zaria region of Kaduna State.
According to reports, the fire broke out at the Zaria market about 1 am on Wednesday and burned till the afternoon.
According to the market’s Chief Security Officer, Hamisu Buhari, the fire started when Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company restored power, and an electric pole fell on the roof of one of the shops.
He continued by saying that attempts to get the local fire department agencies to the scene failed.
He said, “I finally contacted the fire service at the Sabon Gari Main Market. They asked me to provide fuel for them, which I did before they could come to the scene.”
The market’s chairman of Timber merchants, Alhaji Alin Ashiru, ascribed the fire on an electric spark.
He reiterated that 150 shops had been burned to the ground, destroying millions of naira’s worth of property.
When reached, KEDCO’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Abdul Azeez Abdullahi, acknowledged the fire event but refuted the theory that an electric spark was to blame.
