Fire engulfs wholesale bazaar in Baghdad

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A fire erupted on Tuesday in a large bazaar in Iraq's capital, engulfing dozens of stores and storage units.

The blaze at Baghdad’s al-Shorjah bazaar raged for three hours. 

A large number of civil defense teams were at the location trying to control the situation. The bazaar sells clothes and plastics.

“An electrical short circuit caused the fire,” an eyewitness told Rudaw.

Several firefighting trucks struggled to put out the fire, as the city’s narrow alleys prevented the trucks from easily reaching the blaze. 

Some residents of the area told Rudaw that fires are common occurrences in this part of the capital, blaming the presence of flammable materials in the bazaar for the quick spread of the fires. 

"I have lost tens of thousands of dollars and the total loss is estimated to be more than half-a-million dollars," the owner of one of the destroyed shops said. 

Local authorities have yet to comment on the massive blaze. 

In late June, a fire broke out at Sinak bazaar in Baghdad, burning dozens of storage units containing vehicle spare parts. Fires are a perennial concern in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region where safety standards are often lacking. They are especially frequent in the summertime, with the scorching summer heat heightening the risk of fires. 

Aging infrastructure, overcrowding, electrical faults and a lack of basic safety standards are major underlying factors. 

In late May, the Iraqi Civil Defense directorate reported over 1,200 fire incidents in Iraq since the beginning of 2024.

More than 20,000 fires were recorded in Iraq in 2023, down from 32,000 in 2022, according to the directorate's data.

Ziyad Ismail contributed to this report.