A late-night fire has destroyed six houses, several shops and storage facilities at Kofar Wanbai Market in Kano State, with property worth millions of naira reportedly lost.
The fire broke out at about 9:43pm on Friday in the Babban Layi, Yan Robobi section of the market, according to the Kano State Fire Service.
The agency’s Public Relations Officer, Saminu Abdullahi, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Saturday. 
He said a distress call from a Principal Fire Superintendent, Usman Idris Fagge, prompted the immediate deployment of firefighting teams from the state headquarters and stations at Rijiyar Zaki, Sabon Gari, Government House and Bompai.
Abdullahi said firefighters arrived to find the blaze had engulfed parts of a two-storey building measuring about 120 by 125 feet and used mainly as plastic shops and storage facilities.
He identified the affected houses as Gidan Alhaji Sani, Gidan Sani Muhammad, Gidan Alhaji Kwa Kwa, Gidan Alhaji Shafi’u and Gidan Alhaji Sulaiman.
According to him, the fire started on the upper floor before spreading to two shops on the ground floor, two on the first floor, six permanent stores and four temporary units on the top floor.
Firefighters eventually brought the inferno under control and prevented it from spreading to adjoining sections of the busy market.
Preliminary findings by the fire service indicated that the blaze was caused by a faulty solar system installation.
The Director of the Kano State Fire Service, Sani Anas, urged traders and residents to observe fire safety measures, install smoke detectors and ensure that functional fire extinguishers are available in commercial and residential premises.
