LAGOS – The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Mr Rasaq Fadipe, on Wednesday said that the service responded to 1, 410 emergency calls from January to November.
Fadipe disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
According to him, during the period, the fire service got an average of three distress calls daily.
“We expect the number to increase because the dry season and December are here when the fire service records high number of emergency calls daily.
“Most times, during the period under review, we experienced rainfall; yet, we still recorded an average of three calls daily.
“In dry season, these distress calls increase from three to seven; sometimes, it rises to 13 or 15 times daily,” he said.
Fadipe said that the state had been proactive in tackling fire incidents, adding that procurement of new fire trucks would boost its operations.
According to him, the state currently operates from 13 fire service stations.
He said that additional two stations would soon be established with one located at Lekki and the other, Abesan, a large housing estate.
Fadipe said that the Lekki Fire Station had been completed and would soon be inaugurated.
He said that increase in fire outbreak during dry season was out of human error.
“We have been going on sensitisation on how to prevent fire and how to tackle fire if it occurs.
“We have a department that has been active on this,” he said.
He said that the state government had been rehabilitating and installing fire hydrants to help the service to perform its duty effectively.
The director said that the state opted for pillar instead of underground fire hydrants.
“The people will see it and point the nearest one out to fire men when they are on duty and run out of water.
“Fire men can easily sight a pillar fire hydrant that is above the land level and refill their trucks nearer, where they are fighting fire,” he said.
The director said that unauthorised personnel were not allowed near fire hydrants, adding that it was an offence for people to tamper with them.
He said that there was a plan to ensure that the state House of Assembly would pass a law to safeguard the fire hydrants from vandalism and misuse. (NAN)
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