On Saturday night, a fire razed many businesses in Kano’s famed Kantin Kwari textile market, prompting fear among vendors with properties worth millions lost to the raging inferno.
The fire started at 7 p.m. on Gidan Inuwa Mai Mai Bayajidda Street and spread to many buildings in the centre of the market.
According to Balarabe Tatari, head of the traders’ organisation, the rapid deployment of the Federal Fire Service, Kano State Fire Service, and private firms, as well as reinforcements from Sabon Gari, Dawanau, and Singa Markets, helped contain the situation.
“The prompt intervention of the Kano State Fire Service, the Federal Fire Service, and reinforcements from private companies, Sabon Gari, Dawanau, and Singa Markets put out the fire,” he said.
Tatari highlighted worries about the market’s overcrowding and lack of suitable access routes, blaming these causes for the fire’s early escalation before firefighting units arrived.
Personnel from the Department of State Services, Nigerian Police Force, and other agencies were sent to guard the market area.
He also urged the state administration to step up efforts to remove obstacles impeding market movement and drainage.
When asked for response, Saminu Abdullahi, Public Relations Officer of the Kano State Fire Service, acknowledged the fire incidence.
When asked for response, Saminu Abdullahi, Public Relations Officer of the Kano State Fire Service, acknowledged the fire incidence.
