Fire Service Ignores Calls, As Fire Razes Over 150 Shops In Zaria market, Destroys Goods Worth N6 Billion
Hours after an inferno in Zaria, Kaduna State gutted about 150 shops at the Sabon Gari market in the ancient city, the Head of Corporate Affairs, Kaduna Electric Company, KEDCO, Abdul Azeez Abdullahi, has denied that electricity sparks caused the inferno.
According to him, reports received indicated that the fire incident started in one of the shops in the market, where no fewer than 150 shops were destroyed at the ‘Yan Katako’ Market in Sabon Gari Zaria.
Eye-witnesses said the fire started around 1 am, when there were no people in the market except few security men who couldn’t do much to save the situation.
A local official said “the fire spread to other shops in the market and that efforts to attract fire service agencies within the area were not successful.
“I personally went to the Kofar Doka Fire Service office. I was informed that their operation vehicle was not in good shape. I then proceeded to the Kongo campus of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) where I was told they had been directed not to operate outside the university premises.”
“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 responded,” he alleged.
Chairman of Timbershed said more than 150 shops were completely destroyed.A state government official estimated that goods destroyed during the fire incident were worth about N6 billion.
