Over 17 shops were razed as fire gutted Timber Market, Umuokpu, Awka, Anambra State, on Tuesday.
Although there was no loss of life, it was gathered that the fire started at about 10:16 pm and burnt till the men of the state firefighters came to the scene.
The cause of the fire could not be ascertained, but eyewitnesses and victims of the fire said the inferno destroyed multi-million naira worth of goods.
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.
“Time of withdrawal from the fire scene was 01.06 am. We are still at the peak of harmattan, please avoid anything which can cause a fire outbreak. Always remember that time of the fire call, will determine the time of response to the fire incident.”