Stakeholders in the fire management sector in Bauchi State have been engaged in discussions on the best professional approaches to tackling fire outbreaks and other disasters in the state.
The engagement was organised by the State Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, with stakeholders drawn from both the Federal and State Fire Services, relevant ministries, departments and agencies, security agencies, professional bodies, civil society organisations (CSOs), the media, market associations, and transport associations.
In her opening remarks at the maiden stakeholders’ meeting, the State Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Hajiya Hajara Yakubu Wanka, stated that the government is committed to mitigating recurring fire disasters and, therefore, sees the need to identify key stakeholders who can propose solutions in that regard.
Hajara Yakubu Wanka also said that the main objective of the meeting was to explore innovative approaches to awareness creation on fire disasters, mitigation, and response.
She stressed, “Although we cannot completely prevent fire disasters from happening, we can help reduce occurrences to the barest minimum through massive awareness campaigns.”
According to her, “Such awareness campaigns will assist in reorienting members of the public on basic precautionary measures and how they can save their lives if such disasters occur.”
The Commissioner urged stakeholders to be open in their suggestions, saying, “We are here to put our heads together and come up with workable and realistic ways of managing fire disasters in Bauchi State.”
She assured stakeholders that His Excellency, Governor Bala Mohammed, is keen to see what solutions they would offer for fire disaster management.
While appreciating the efforts of the Humanitarian Ministry in convening the stakeholder engagement activity, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Sani Muhammad Dambam, stated that fire disasters often come with health concerns due to the physical and psychological trauma victims endure.
Sani Mohammed Dambam provided insights into how smoke from such disasters sometimes leads to fatalities and advised victims to always lay low and crawl out to safety, explaining, “Smoke tends to rise, and when victims walk upright, there is a higher tendency of inhaling large amounts of smoke.”
He pledged his ministry’s commitment to supporting the initiative by the Humanitarian Ministry aimed at reducing fire disasters in the state.
Stakeholders offered advice mainly on weak public awareness, inadequate firefighting trucks, accessibility issues in disaster areas, the use of substandard electrical wiring, the absence of emergency contact numbers, and other challenges.
At the end of the meeting, two sub-committees—resource mobilisation and advocacy/awareness—were formed with a mandate to develop a workable plan of action towards mitigating fire disasters in Bauchi State.
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