An early morning fire on Monday gutted the Noma Oil and Cakes Company located on Mission Road, Kano Stated. Properties worth N320m were said to have been destroyed by the inferno. An eyewitness who pleaded anonymity told reporters that the fire which started around 9:00am lasted about four hours. "The fire started slowly and suddenly engulfed the factory. Since the company deals with fuel, the fire raged and we are all helpless and started running for our dear lives," the eyewitness stated. He added that it however, took men of the state fire service more than three and a half hours before they could put out the fire. Confirming the incident, the Director of the State Fire Service, Alhaji Balarabe Kabara, said properties worth N320 million were destroyed by the inferno.