No fewer than five shops were on Tuesday gutted by fire at the timber market in Kenyatta Street, Uwani, Enugu, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

A NAN correspondent who was at the scene of the incident reports that prompt response by the state fire service quenched the fire from spreading to other parts of the plywood market.

A firefighter, who preferred anonymity, said the service received a distress call around 9.45 p.m. that the market was on fire, and it immediately swung into action and quenched the fire before it spread to other parts of the market.

"As you can see, only about five shops were affected by the fire in this big market. I cannot say much about this incident as I am not the Chief Fire Officer," the fireman said.

Meanwhile, an eyewitness who identified himself as Joe told NAN that he noticed the fire immediately after the suspension of the nationwide industrial strike by the labour unions in the country.

According to him, some neighbours in the area rushed to the market, and within a few minutes, the fire service arrived and quenched the fire.

"I thank God and the fire service for the quick response; otherwise, it would have been disastrous," he said. (NAN)