Three people lost their lives and one person was injured in two different fire outbreaks that occurred on Friday in Kano State, the State Fire Service has confirmed.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by the agency’s spokesperson, ACFO Saminu Yusif Abdullahi, the first incident took place around 1:30 p.m. when a petrol tanker laden with 30,000 litres of fuel overturned and exploded at the Kura Market junction along Zaria Road.
The tanker, registered as NGZ 250 XA, was said to have hit a motorcycle rider before bursting into flames. A retired Civil Defence officer, Danlami Muhammad, alerted authorities, prompting the Emergency Response Unit to deploy firefighters from the service headquarters.
“On arrival, our team discovered the tanker completely engulfed. Four persons were involved: three were rescued unconscious but later confirmed dead, while the motorcyclist survived,” the statement read.
Firefighters, assisted by police and FRSC operatives, eventually extinguished the blaze. The victims’ bodies were handed over to ASP Ahmad Lawan of the Kura Police Division. Two fire trucks—one from the headquarters and another from the Kura station—were used in the operation. The cause of the crash is still being investigated.
A second fire incident was reported at about 2:45 p.m. the same day at Hamisu Plaza on Maiduguri Road in Taruni Local Government Area. By the time firefighters arrived, the upper floor of the two-storey commercial building was already burning. Three shops were destroyed, but the remaining shops on the lower floors were successfully protected. A fire truck stationed at the ongoing trade fair responded to the call. The cause of the plaza fire is also under investigation.
The agency’s Director, Alhaji Sani Anas, appealed to residents to exercise caution, especially during the harmattan, and urged motorists to obey traffic regulations to prevent avoidable disasters.
The state has recently recorded several fire tragedies. Nine days earlier, four family members were burnt to death in a house fire at Kundila Layin Baba Impossible in Tarauni LGA. Earlier in November, a fire at Singer Market destroyed at least 25 temporary shops and 19 stores.
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