Eight shops were reported to have been burnt to ashes following a serious fire outbreak in the wee hours of Saturday at the Serrekunda Market.

The actual circumstances surrounding the cause of the fire outbreak are yet to be established, but it is reported that  at least D5 million worth of items were consumed by the inferno.

Malang Jatta, a shop owner spotted at the scene of the incident, gazing at the remains of his wrecked shop in grief, told the Daily Observer that he was yet to know the exact cause of the fire, but he confirmed that the fire started in the shop of one  Alagie Jobe, who shared the same building with him. “Five shops in Jagne Kunda and three in the neighbouring Barrow Kunda were burnt to ashes”.

Jatta further revealed that he had lost over D200,000 worth of items to the outbreak.
Omar Njie, another shop owner, said that the fire ravaged about D3 million worth of items in his shop. Taibou Jobe, a textile dealer said he could not quantify the materials ravaged in the fire, and that the cause of the fire is concern to the victims. He expressed great concern as to the cause of frequent outbreaks of fire at the Serrekunda market. He called on the authorities to mount investigations so as to establish the cause of the outbreak.

Ousman Sonko, the Secretary of State for the Interior, who was among hundreds of onlookers at the scene, said he was informed of the fire outbreak by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Modou Gaye.
SoS Sonko assured the victims that the police will investigate the cause of the fire.
The SoS was quick to state that people need to check the wiring system of their shops thoroughly.

Modou Gaye, the police DIG said he came to know about the fire incident when he and his men assembled at the Kanifing Police Intervention Unit for their routine cleansing of the main roads in the Greater Banjul Area.

He noted that when he was informed about the fire, he called on his men for immediate intervention to help put out the fire. He said he also called on the Chief Fire Officer and informed him about the outbreak.
He went on to thank the general public for their timely assistance.

Gibou Jagne,  Interim Chairman of the Management Committee of KMC, who is also the landlord of the victims, said he had no idea about the cause of the fire, but he maintained that it started at 8:00 am.