Firemen last night described the blaze in the Isa Town market as one of the most difficult they had ever dealt with.

Dozens of firefighters in around 30 fire engines and support vehicles battled for more than five hours to bring the blaze under a.

They were still at the scene until after 10pm damping down and ensuring the area was safe.

One senior Civil Defence officer said his men had been overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the incident.

"We arrived at the scene almost immediately but the fire spread so quickly," he told the GDN.

"We were hard pressed to find out where to concentrate our efforts."

The officer, who declined to be named, said every fireman in Bahrain, including those off duty or on holiday, had been summoned to the scene.

"Many of the firemen have come immediately, some of them not even in uniform, such was the urgency," he said.

"All fire stations were alerted and all of them sent their fire tenders. We had around 30 vehicles at the scene.

"The fire spread just too quickly because of the inflammable materials around. There were mattresses, curtain cloth, sofas, dress materials and furniture.

"There were also materials like paint thinner, furniture polish and kerosene, which all fanned the flames."

Fire engines from Bapco also assisted in putting out the blaze.

"I have seen several fires but nothing as compared to this. I am amazed no one is injured or dead," said trader Abdulhussain Binali, in his 70s.

"Until a few months ago, I was located near the area where the fire is thought to have started but moved recently to another place. I guess I was just lucky.

"Several of my friends have lost everything."