Fire Outbreak at Kano’s Singer Market Causes Destruction of Shops

Another fire outbreak has erupted at Kano’s popular Singer Market, destroying shops in the Gidan Glass section of the market situated along Ado Bayero Road by Murtala Muhammad Way.

The incident, which started on Saturday afternoon, marks the second fire outbreak at the market in less than two weeks.

A trader, Nasir Maharazu, told Daily Trust that the fire began around 4:00 p.m. and was still raging as of press time. “As I speak to you now, I can see the fire burning. The whole two-storey building is under fire. This fire is even worse than the one recorded less than two weeks ago in the market,” he said.

Eyewitnesses reported that the fire started from a provision shop, sending thick black smoke into the sky and causing confusion in the busy market. Traders and residents were seen struggling to salvage their goods and prevent the blaze from spreading to nearby buildings. “The fire started from a shop selling provisions. Within minutes, it spread to other shops. We tried to remove some items, but the heat and smoke were too much,” an eyewitness recounted.

The fire spread rapidly to adjoining structures, heightening fears among traders and shoppers in the area. Officials from the Kano State Fire Service arrived at the scene with a fire truck, but the initial water supply was reportedly exhausted while trying to contain the inferno. A second fire truck later arrived to reinforce the operation, alongside a private water tanker from Aspira Nigeria Limited, which joined the effort to extinguish the flames.

Despite these interventions, some traders called for additional water tankers to curb further destruction, as the blaze continued to rage for hours. As of the time of filing this report, the cause of the fire had yet to be determined, with fire service authorities stating that investigations were ongoing to ascertain what triggered the incident.

Daily Trust reports that this latest outbreak comes barely weeks after a similar fire incident at the same market, which left traders counting heavy losses and deepened the economic hardship faced by business owners in the area. Singer Market is the largest commodity market in Kano and northern Nigeria, supplying provision wares and foodstuffs to most northern states and some neighbouring West and Central African countries.