Eyewitnesses said the fire was ignited by a suspected power surge and raged for several hours before the arrival of the men of the state fire service who battled to control it.
When our correspondent visited the scene, affected traders were seen gathering the remnants of their burnt properties.
Although no life was lost during the fire incident, goods and properties were destroyed in the affected shops which were mainly provision shops, plastic and attachments shops.
The inferno follows the two fire incidents recorded on Friday at a residential building at Rockland Estate, Awka and at a telecommunication mast in Agu Awka.
Already, the state has recorded about 24 fire incidents between September 2023 and February 16, 2024. In January 2024, there were about nine fire incidents in different parts of the state while about eight fire outbreaks occurred in February alone.
Confirming the incident when contacted, the state fire service chief, Martin Agbili, said the firefighters received the call of the incident at about 1:20am.
“At about 0120hrs (1.20am) of Wednesday 21-02-2024, Anambra State Fire Service received a distress call of a fire outbreak at Nkwo Market, Umunze.
“Immediately, we deployed our fire truck and gallant firefighters to the fire scene. We fought, controlled and extinguished with the assistance of some traders and the public who came out at that incident time.
“The cause of the fire was unknown but suspected power surge. There was no casualty or loss of life during the fire incident but about four shops were affected, mainly provision shops, plastic shops, and attachments shops,” Agbili added.
He also advised residents to always remember to switch off electrical and electronic appliances when they are not in use to avoid power surges.
