The Controller General Federal Fire Service (FFS), Dr Ibrahim Liman Alhaji has called for the establishment of an armed squad in the service to be known as Fire Police, saddled with the responsibility of protecting its personnel at the fire scene and investigation grounds from hoodlums and miscreants.
Dr Liman Alhaji who made the call at the 11th Conference of Controller General Federal Fire Service and Director of Fire Service with the theme:” Fire Safety Management: An Imperative for National Security” held in Jos, Plateau State on Monday decried the frequent harassment, sometimes assault on fire officers and destruction of operational vehicles anytime on duty.
He commended the National Assembly and Director Legal, Federal Ministry of Interior for painstakingly working towards the repeal of the Fire Service Act 1964 and re-enactment of a more robust Act that meets modern exigencies to position service for better service delivery in line with contemporary times.
Presenting the scorecards of the Service, the Controller General pointed out that for the first quarter of 2021, the Service received 976 fire calls, 34 rescue emergencies, 175 lives saved, 11 lives lost, an estimated property saved 3.7 trillion, estimated property lost 9.42 billion adding that the major reason behind the spike in the first quarter of 2021 figure was an industrial fire.
“Nonetheless, the phenomenal increase in fire fighting and emergency asset base under the watch of Mr President is unprecedented in the history of Federal Fire Service. It is further confirmation and demonstration of the present administration commitment to ensuring the safety and security of lives and property across Nigeria as state of art firefighting trucks and basic life support ambulances have been deployed across the country,” he said.
He advocated for extensive collaboration between federal fire service, state fire services and other emergency-related institutions be it public and private and also to ensure comprehensive liaison between fire and other emergency-related institutions and NAICON.
He further declared thus:” it is now time to step fire safety management as lack of it has the capacity to breach our National Security. Anything that threatens physical BV well-being of the population or jeopardizes the stability of the nation’s economy, food security, wildlife and forest reserve as well as institutions, infrastructures and national assets is considered a national security threat.”
In his goodwill message, the acting Director Plateau State Fire Service Mr Caleb Polit said fire service administration the world over was a very complex responsibility adding that doing so in a developing world seems more cumbersome given lacklustre altitude to safety and security.
He thanked the Controller General Federal Fire Service for his direct intervention in repairing some of the grounded state fire service trucks.
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