By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
A fire outbreak at the popular Farm Centre GSM Market in Kano on Friday afternoon destroyed several shops, with the State Fire Service confirming that the cause of the incident was a battery explosion.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the Fire Service, ACFO Saminu Yusif Abdullahi, on Friday.
According to the Fire Service, the control room received a call for emergency assistance at about 12:32 pm from one of their staff, Senior Fire Superintendent (SFS) Musa Ya’u, who reported the fire outbreak.
“The service, under the leadership of its Director, Alhaji Sani Anas, immediately mobilized firefighters from various stations across the Kano metropolitan area.
“The fire burned through both the ground and upper floors of a one-storey building, affecting a total of 47 shops, including temporary ones.
“The fire started from the ground floor of the building, burning 20 permanent shops and 13 temporary shops. It later spread to the upper floor where it destroyed another 13 shops and one temporary shop.”
According to the Fire Service, the quick response of its officers helped to prevent further damage.
“By God’s intervention and the effort of our men, we were able to contain the fire using five jets,” he added.
The service confirmed that no lives were lost and no one was injured during the incident.
The statement urged shop owners and residents to handle batteries and electrical items with care to avoid similar incidents in the future.