By Ezra Musa
Kaduna – Kaduna State Fire Service on Tuesday said that it recorded 496 fire outbreaks between January and December 2017.
Mr Paul Aboi, the Director of the Service, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.
Aboi said the fire incidences occurred in the three major towns of the state with Kaduna metropolis recording the highest, 291 cases, followed by Zaria with 175 cases and Kafanchan with 30.
He, however, said that the total figure was lower than that of 2016.
He attributed the reduction to sensitisation campaigns by the State Emergency Management Agency and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The director said that the service was doing its best to reduce and bring fire disasters in the state to the barest minimum.
He said investigations showed that most of the fire incidents occurred as a result of negligence and improper installation of electrical appliances.
Aboi advised residents of the state to be very careful with electrical appliances and always disconnect them from power source when they were not in use.
“The only language fire understands is prevention; people should switch off electrical gadgets in rooms not occupied.
“They should remove cut-outs from main power supply so that if there is power surge, it will not affect the building,’’ he said.
Aboi said the agency would continue to sensitise the residents on fire safety measures to reduce number breakouts.
He warned residents to be careful during the dry season as the period was prone to fire disaster, saying fire usually rage out of control during the period.