The fire originated from candlelight when a worker of a painting warehouse on the first floor of Kabba Kas Super Market was using it at around 12:45pm, as electricity was off for a long time, witnesses said.

The traders, garment workers, and others inside the three-storey building came out hurriedly using four staircases.

The shop was gutted but workers managed to defuse the fire using 23 gas cylinders before it could spread to other parts of the building.

Disciplined action of the people helped to avert a disaster, said a shop owner of the building.

Work in the garments factory on the second floor of the building remained suspended for two hours following the incident.