Timber dealers at the Rumuosi timber market in Obio Akpor local Government Area of Rivers State on Sunday, lost goods worth millions of naira to fire.
It was gathered that the fire broke out following the ignition of a heap of sawdust deposed by the timber dealers in the market.
The fire was said to have destroyed furniture shops, leaving one of the shop owners injured.
Speaking on the incident, the affected dealers called on the government to ensure that fire stations are made available in different parts of the state for accessibility while noting that officials of the federal fire service arrived at the scene late.
They lamented that if the firefighters had arrived in time, the fire would have been controlled, and losses salvaged in time.