Fire Guts Abuja Market, Destroys 40 Shops

A section of the well-known Kaura Modern Market, located opposite the Prince and Princess Market in the Kaura District of Abuja, was engulfed in flames on Friday night.

The fire, which reportedly broke out around 11 p.m., destroyed approximately 40 shops, resulting in the loss of items such as foodstuffs, appliances, and household goods.

In a Saturday report, the Acting Director of the FCT Fire Service, Amiola Adebayo, confirmed the incident. He explained that the fire was triggered by an electrical spark from a power change-over unit installed in one of the shops and was worsened by a generator placed inside the shop where the fire originated.

The report further indicated that the fire was reported at 11:11 p.m. and was finally extinguished at 1:59 a.m. by combined teams from the FCT and Federal Fire Services.

The report reads as follows “Property involved; Open Market block that comprises 39 shops of foodstuffs. Items lost: foodstuffs, generators, refrigerators, fruits, umbrellas, electrical appliances, household items, and some parts of the roof.

“Cause of fire: Electrical spark on a power change-over installed in one of the shops. The fire was put under control by the combined teams of the FCT fire service and Federal fire. Fire under control at 1:59 am.”

The Director however did not state whether or not there had been any loss of lives or injuries to persons as a result of the incident.

Responding to claims that the Fire Service arrived late at the scene of the incident, Adebayo explained that the network challenges from service providers made the service hard to reach, stating however that officers arrived at the scene between 10-12 minutes after getting the call.

“The only challenge we had was network. They couldn’t reach us on time. I was there myself. When they called, I had to mobilize the Games Village service and in about 10-12 minutes they were there. But you know to a person at the scene, one minute would have felt like a long time. And then the Asokoro unit joined about 15 minutes after”, he said.