By Ihechinyere Chigemeri-Uwom
Umuahia – Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia has expressed readiness to boost the capability of the Abia Fire Service in handling and mitigating fire incidents in the state.
Ikpeazu who said this on Thursday at the presentation of firefighting tunics to the agency in Umuahia, said that Abia government was committed to supporting fire prevention and management programmes.
The governor, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Chief Augustine Agbazuere, said that Abia government was resolute in promoting the health and safety of the people of Abia.
He said the state government would continually provide more firefighting equipment, and urged the people of Abia to desist from activities that could cause fire outbreaks.
According to him, the state government is ready to take action against anyone who is discovered to be the cause of fire outbreak in any area.
“Anyone found to be the cause of any fire incident will be charged for arson. I believe that if we are careful things will get better,” he said.
Ikpeazu commended the agency for its commitment to duty and urged the people of Abia to apply safety precautions in their daily activities.
Earlier, Mr Victor Gbaruko, the state Controller of the agency, said “it is better to prevent fire outbreak than to fight it” and urged the public to apply caution in handling inflammable materials.
Gbaruko appealed to the state to acquire more firefighting equipment for the agency, adding that it would make the firefighters to be confident in discharging their duty.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event featured a fire drill by officials of Abia Fire Service.
(NAN)
