Fire Devastates Shop in Marché Central, Douala

A fire incident Sunday morning gutted one shop at Marché Central. The shop worth at least a million and completely reduced to ashes consisted of ready-made clothes in stock.

Neighbouring traders around Carrefour Anatole entrance to the market said they saw smoke billowing from the roofs of the shop at about 6:30 am.

The early sellers immediately started digging up blocks and destroyed the iron door to stop the devastation. But when it opened huge columns of flame billowed out causing scare and sent most of them afar off. Immediately, wooden extensions in front of the shop and neighbouring ones caught fire.

Eyewitnesses doff their cap to the swift and timely efforts of Ngodi Fire Fighters, whom once alerted, waited no further but vested energy and resources to put off disaster. The fire was stopped from crossing over to other shops unless that some wooden extensions of surrounding shops which had no merchandise on them at time were consumed to ashes.

Coming in shortly after the incident, the owner of the shop and victim, Nathalie, said she suffered a similar incident in the last fire incident in Marché Central before relocating outside the market at Carrefour Anatole. Even there, thieves broke into the shop and carted away with several merchandise, she disclosed.