TRAGEDY struck during the weekend in Enugu, the Enugu State capital when an inferno razed down a section of popular Timber market, Kenyatta, Enugu State, destroying goods, shops and machines worth over N2 billion.
It was learnt that the fire disaster began at about 7 pm on Friday and raged into the midnight despite the intervention of the State Fire Service and passers-by who were attracted to the scene.
An eyewitness said that assorted machines numbered about 150 and more than 300 shops were destroyed completely.
But not for the early arrival of the men of the fire service which stemmed further escalation of the fire, the entire market would have been engulfed by the inferno.
As at Saturday evening when Nigerian Tribune visited the scene, men of the state fire service were still seen fighting frantically to put off  the fire to avoid being escalated by the wind
One of the firefighters who simply identified himself as Nathaniel said the cause of the fire cannot be immediately ascertained, but said that it might be from an electrical spark or cigarette butt.
According to him, the State Fire Service was already on the ground when the fire started as they have a unit on the market.
“We were already on the ground, we have a post here. When the fire started and we saw the magnitude we alerted the state headquarters, the government house and other units”, he told reporters.
AÂ trader at the timber shed who gave his name as Okoro Ikedi, estimated the damage to be in the range of N2 billion
Also speaking, another trader by named Uche said the affected lines in the market were Lines 2, 3, and 4, adding that assorted machines including giant spindle, mortician, and sharpening machines, and several generating sets were gutted by fire.
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He said arson was unlikely given that the timber traders had a good network of internal security within the market.
Meanwhile, the State governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has visited the scene of the disaster to ascertain the extent of damage and promised to find a lasting solution the inferno.
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