No fewer than 17 shops were destroyed by a fire incident at the Timber Market, Umuokpu, Awka, Anambra State, on Tuesday.
Although no one was killed, it was reported that the fire began around 10:16 p.m. and burned until the arrival of state firefighters.
The cause of the fire could not be determined, but eyewitnesses and victims said the inferno destroyed goods worth millions of naira.
Confirming the incident, the state fire service chief, Martin Agbili, said his personnel fought the fire to a standstill and prevented it from escalating further.
He said, “At about 10.16 pm on Tuesday, the Anambra State Fire Service, received a distress call of a heavy fire outbreak at Timber Market, Umuokpu Awka.
“Immediately, we deployed our fire truck and brave firefighters to the fire scene. The heavy fire was later fought to a standstill.
“The cause of the fire is unknown and no life was lost. About 17 shops were badly affected but we were able to control the fire from spreading to many other shops.