‘Fire, serious threat to Nigeria’s socio-economic progress’

Speaking at a two-day sensitisation workshop on fire prevention and health hazards in Kaduna, the CG said the fire service has the responsibility to manage and control fire, adding that the workshop aims at proffering solution to prevent fire from occurring.
Represented by the Controller, Policy, Regulatory and Inspectorate, Federal Fire Service, Quintus Azogu, the CG emphasised that the essential component of prevention is public enlighten and education and an interaction between fire safety officials and fire state team manager in the private sector.
He said: “The national fire safety code is in place and we are encouraging the states to take advantage and carry out the effective management and control of fire in their domain,” he said.
He advised people to have escape routes when building their houses saying, “when you are building your house, it is the responsibility of the fire service to look at the fire safety design and ensure that the fire protection features are in place.”
“One has to think about his safety before he begins to put stringent security measures in his home, it is very important that people ensure they have a means of escape during fire outbreaks,” he said.
He said fire alarms, fire detectors, fire extinguishers and building materials being used are very important on the spread of fire.
“At some point in time in Kaduna, we had only two fire stations. Kaduna is a metropolitan state, so Kaduna should have more than that, the governor is doing his best. At the last conference of the National Council on Fire, the governor made some giant strides with regards to provision of firefighting infrastructure and taking care of personnel welfare,” he said.
He said more needs to be done by the authorities in ensuring that people are safe from the scourge of fire because Nigeria is fast developing and if there is development without adequate fire cover for them, then, “our socio-economic development stands compromised because fire is a significant threat.”
A Director in the Kaduna State Ministry of Environment, Ahmed Salihu, said the workshop aims at addressing the effect of global warming which gives way to the climatic change condition and fire incidences that have been happening.
He said if there is a fire outbreak, a person should be able to identify the cause of the fire in order to take care of it, adding that part of the solution is to have water with some washing detergent in it to make it foam as well as get the assistance of neighbours pending the arrival of the fire service men.