At least 22 shops were engulfed by fire outbreak at Kara Market, Ajase-Ipo, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, in the early hours of Wednesday.
The incident which started around 1:35 a.m., was traced to a cooking fire that had not been properly extinguished in one of the plank shops. The flames spread rapidly, destroying 22 plank shops and six container shops before firefighters contained it.
Spokesman of the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Hakeem Adekunle, confirmed the development, saying the operatives were able to control the situation from getting worse after battling through the night.
He said that there were 323 shops at the market and only 28 shops were affected, mostly shops selling food stuff and provision.
Adekunle quoted the Fire Service Director as commending firefighters for their immediate response.
He also warned traders to adhere to fire safety measures to avoid similar fate.
