A fire outbreak on Wednesday destroyed 28 shops at the bustling Kara Market in Ajase-Ipo, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The incident occurred around 1:35 a.m. and consumed 22 plank shops and six container shops before firefighters from the Kwara Fire Service brought the blaze under control.

The market, which has a total of 323 shops including 22 plank structures and seven kiosks suffered significant material losses, though no casualties were reported.

Hassan Adekunle, spokesperson for the Kwara State Fire Service, confirmed the incident and attributed the fire to negligence by a shop owner.

He explained that the blaze started after a shop owner cooked late at night and failed to properly extinguish the fire, which later spread to neighbouring shops.

The Fire Service has urged traders and residents to exercise greater caution, particularly in markets with temporary or flammable structures.

"The fire later came back on and spread to other shops because the area had many wooden structures.

"Firefighters arrived on time to stop the fire from spreading to the rest of the market, saving many other shops and goods from being destroyed. The quick action of our men stopped a bigger disaster.

"We want traders to always be careful with fire, especially in markets where there are many things that can easily burn," he said.

The spokesman for the fire service also advised shop owners to always put out fires completely after use and be safety-conscious.

(NAN)