THE Controller-General of the Federal Fire Service (FFS), Abdulganiyu Jaji, has disclosed that the Service has quenched no fewer than 519 fire outbreaks across the country and saved properties worth N56.92 billion within four months of his assumption of office.
Jaji, who made this known in Abuja, also disclosed that from April 28, 2022 that he took over the saddle till date, the Service had lost 23 personnel to fire outbreaks and rescued 38 persons in distress due to fire-related emergencies.
He further revealed that about177 lives were saved from various scenes of infernos, while disclosing also that the country lost over N11.62 billion to fire from different parts of the country within the period under review.
He said fire outbreaks in Nigeria and attendant losses of lives and properties as well as the lack of compliance to fire safety have continued to generate concerns of stakeholders, hence their resolve to make compulsory fire liability insurance for all public buildings.
He said there was the need for public buildings to subscribe to the liability insurance policy, warning the public to desist from attacking fpersonnel responding to fire calls and appliances or face the full wrath of the law.
Accoding to him, the Service could no longer afford to risk the lives of its men and expose its very expensive trucks to destruction.
He wondered why efforts by dedicated firefighters to always get to scenes of fire disasters were frustrated by mobs who attack them and their trucks with dangerous weapons.
He called on community and traditional leaders to take the responsibility of educating and cautioning their subjects, saying the Service would continue to work with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to provide fire cover for fire fighters.
“We do not cause the fire outbreaks, yet we go out of our way to try and rescue victims and save property. However, people keep attacking us physically and our equipment. This was why we placed a ban on fire service operations in Nyanya.
“So, it behoves the community leaders to talk to their wards to stop attacking our personnel and equipment. If they cannot say thank you, they should allow us to do our work and go in peace. This was why we removed our appliances here,” he said.
The FFS boss also disclosed plans to stop overseas training for its personnel and instead expand the capacity of its training institutions to also attract foreign students.
“Let me assure you that there is going to be local training before the end of the year. We want everybody to benefit and that is why we are not doing overseas training yet because the money you will spend on training 10 people overseas, you can use it to train 30 people here. Aside from this, we want to bring trainees from other countries too to come and train in our training schools. We will save foreign exchange through this,” he said.
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