THE Federal Government has charged the Federal Fire Service to work towards reducing the response to fire disasters and other emergencies across the country so as to save lives and property.
Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, gave the charge while commissioning six firefighting trucks and 15 Ford Rapid Response Vehicles at The Federal Fire Service Headquarters, Abuja.
This is as the Controller-General of Federal Fire Service, Engineer Jaji Abdulganiyu, however, revealed that property worth over N300 billion has been saved between the first and second quarter of 2023 by the firemen.
Tunji-Ojo disclosed that the Federal Fire Service would soon play a major role in the national development when the bill on fire and rescue service is passed.
While stressing the need for more quick response time to fire outbreaks by FFS firefighters, the Minister said: “Extinguishing fires, saving lives and property, rescuing people during accidents and protecting people in the event of other emergencies remained part of your responsibilities.”
Describing the Federal Fire Service as a sleeping giant, Tunji-Ojo said, “For any country to attain its potential, fire serve cannot be relegated. I say this to the FFS, you are a sleeping giant. The time to wake up is now.
“There is a direct correlation between sophistication, industrialization and fire service because the more you grow as an economy, the more you need to expand the coast of your fire service. Fire service is directly related to development in any nation.”
He said the country cannot continue to be nonchalant to the issues of fire. “As an individual, I believe that the FFS should be the major employer of labour in Nigeria. All we need to do is put on our thinking caps.
“It is time for the FFS to rise up to her responsibility which is not just about combating fire. It has to do even with forecasting dangers. We have to migrate from the era of corrective activities to the era of being proactive which will lead us to preventive measures that can save us millions of Naira.
“Your strength lies in the decline of fire outbreaks and not the number of fires you fought within a period.
He said the Federal Fire and Rescue Service will be expected to collect information across Nigeria and also take care of the health and safety of personnel.
Controller-General of Federal Fire Service, Engineer Jaji Abdulganiyu, noted that the fire statistics in the first and second quarter of 2023 was a testimony of a truly re-engineered Service, adding that records at the Data Repository Centre puts fire call for the period at 1, 096, lives saved 111, successful rescues at 91 and total property saved at over N300 billion.
He said the commissioning of the firefighting assets and subsequent deployment will position the Service for better service delivery while sending a signal to the general public of the administration’s commitment to protect lives and property.
“The Firefighting trucks and Rapid Response Vehicles will provide firemen ample opportunities for time-saving, professional and efficient firefighting and rescue operations across the country.
“The manoeuvrability and tractive force coupled with the modern-tech -firefighting tools built into the automotive frame of the Ford RRV brings enhanced productivity to the field of efficient firefighting, search and rescue and robust Global Positioning System(GPS)/mapping and navigation. Speed and stability being assured, the RRV reduces response time significantly during fire calls as difficult terranes could be run much faster.
Conventionally, the firefighting trucks are heavy-duty in nature, used for large scale fires as the case may be.
“ Rapid Response Vehicles on the other hand will be used in our economic and social hubs to meet the exigencies of time, given that it is easier to manoeuvre. For example, our markets and public spaces today do not have access routes for firefighting trucks, hence the need for Rapid Response Vehicles cannot be overemphasised.”
. TheWitness
