A section of the palace of the Emir of Jama’a in Kafanchan, headquarters of Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State, was destroyed by fire on Friday evening.
The incident reportedly affected apartments within a wing of the palace said to be occupied by the Emir’s mother, causing panic among residents of the palace and the surrounding community.
Eyewitnesses said the fire broke out shortly before the Magrib prayer.
“We suddenly saw smoke billowing from one of the apartments while preparations were ongoing for prayers,” a resident who lives close to the palace told our correspondent.
“People started shouting for help, and there was confusion as everyone tried to rescue belongings.”
When our correspondent visited the palace late Friday night, parts of the affected structure were still smouldering. Several rooms were visibly burnt, with furniture and other household items reduced to ashes.
Officials of the Kaduna State Fire Service were said to have responded to a distress call but encountered difficulties on arrivaal.
“The firefighters came, but their pumping machine failed to start immediately,” another eyewitness said. “That delay made it harder to control the fire, and it spread to about four flats before additional help arrived.”
Local volunteers reportedly joined efforts to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other sections of the palace.
Although no injuries or fatalities were recorded as of the time of filing this report, the fire caused extensive damage to property.
A community leader described the incident as unfortunate and called for improved emergency response systems in the area.
“We thank God that no life was lost, but this is a wake-up call. Our fire service units must be better equipped to respond swiftly to emergencies,” he said.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, and authorities had not released an official statement on the extent of the losses as of press time.
