An early morning fire has destroyed at least 44 shops and stores at the popular Singa Market in Kano State.
The incident, which occurred around 5:00 a.m. on Monday, was confirmed in a statement by the Public Relations Officer of the Kano State Fire Service, ACFO Saminu Yusif Abdullahi on Monday night.

According to the statement, the agency received an emergency call from Mubarak Muhammad, who alerted the central control room about the fire outbreak.

“On arrival, our men found a one-storey building measuring about 150 by 150 feet, known as Alhaji Abdulmunafi Yunusa House, completely engulfed in flames,” the statement said.

Abdullahi explained that 25 temporary shops attached to the front of the building and 19 stores on the upper floor were completely destroyed. 

However, firefighters managed to contain the fire and prevented it from spreading to 24 other stores on the upper floor as well as all the shops on the ground floor.

He added that the rescue operation was challenging due to poor road access caused by trailers parked along the route, which delayed movement to the scene.

The Fire Service Director, Alhaji Sani Anas, led the response team. 

During their investigation, they met with the head of the building, Ambassador Garba Ibrahim Mai Maggie, and a security personnel, Malam Ibrahim, who revealed that the entire building used a single electric switch.

“Based on our findings, we discovered that the switch was not properly managed, and we strongly suspect that a fault from the electrical wiring caused the fire, which started from the temporary shops,” the statement added.