TAHOUA, Niger (AP) — A fire broke out late Wednesday at the modern market known as Marché STM in the central city of Tahoua, sending plumes of smoke into the night sky and drawing a rapid response from emergency crews, officials said Friday.
The blaze erupted around 10 p.m. on Feb. 12, quickly drawing fire services to the scene.
Police secured the area as firefighters worked to contain the flames and prevent the inferno from spreading to neighboring stalls and shops, municipal authorities said.
Officials said the quick intervention limited the damage, though a full assessment of losses is still underway.
Local officials, accompanied by municipal authorities, visited the market in the following hours to inspect the damage and begin cataloging what was lost as traders watched anxiously from a safe distance.
An investigation has been opened to determine what sparked the blaze, but no cause has been publicly confirmed.
This incident comes amid a spate of market fires across Niger in recent weeks, raising concern among traders and authorities alike.
A major fire last weekend devastated the Grand Market in Maradi, one of the country’s busiest commercial hubs straddling trade routes to neighboring countries, consuming vast swaths of the marketplace and wiping out the merchandise of hundreds of vendors.
Other outbreaks in recent weeks have been reported in urban commercial centers including markets in Zinder and Diffa, underscoring vulnerabilities in safety and infrastructure at key economic arteries in the country.
Officials have not linked the incidents but say they underscore the need to bolster fire prevention and emergency response capabilities.
So far there are no confirmed reports of casualties linked to the Tahoua fire. Traders in the city expressed frustration at repeated fires, noting the heavy blow such incidents deal to livelihoods already strained by economic pressures.
Authorities in Niger have yet to release a consolidated national tally of recent market fires or outline a strategy to address the string of outbreaks, but analysts say improved electrical inspections, better access for fire crews and public awareness campaigns could help reduce future risks.
(Reporting by SCANS in Abuja; additional information from regional news reports.)
