An early morning fire has destroyed at least 44 shops and stores at the popular Singa Market in Kano State. The incident occurred around 5:00 a.m. on Monday, the Kano State Fire Service confirmed.

In a statement, the Public Relations Officer, ACFO Saminu Yusif Abdullahi, said the agency received an emergency call from Mubarak Muhammad, who alerted the control room about the 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,” Abdullahi said.

The building housed 25 temporary shops at the front and 19 stores on the upper floor, all of which were completely destroyed. Firefighters managed to contain the blaze, preventing it from spreading to 24 other upper-floor stores and all ground-floor shops.

Abdullahi noted that the rescue operation was hampered by poor road access due to trailers parked along the route, which delayed the fire service’s response.

The Fire Service Director, Alhaji Sani Anas, led the response team. During the investigation, officials met with Ambassador Garba Ibrahim Mai Maggie, head of the building, and security personnel Malam Ibrahim, who revealed that the building relied on 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.