By Florence Onuegbu
Lagos – The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has urged residents to be safety cautious and demystify the negative myths about the ember-months of September to December.
The General Manager, LASEMA, Mr Adesina Tiamiyu, said that the months were often characterised by major emergency/disaster such as auto crashes, fire outbreaks and other tragedies that often claimed lives and properties.
Tiamiyu said that the period was mostly characterised with so many activities and high vehicular movement of people and goods in and out of the state during the festive activities of Christmas and New Year celebrations.
He said that there was the need for attitudinal change of the people, especially motorists and commuters, who felt the ember months were the time to double their hustle.
According to him, motorists and commuters rush to make more money and to get to their various destinations at the least possible time at this period, thereby leading to major road accidents.
“These road accidents are caused by speeding, reckless driving, drinking of alcohol and not adhering to traffic rules.
‘“The ember months are just like every other month of the calendar year.
“Motorists should ensure necessary safety precautions are strictly adhered to while driving, as erring offenders will be prosecuted by the state government,” Tiamiyu said in a statement.
He said that all agencies responsible for the management of emergencies had been put on red alert to secure and protect the lives and properties of people living and doing business in the state.
He said that the agencies included LASEMA, Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Ambulance Service, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Nigerian Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, among others.
According to him, one of the major causes of fire outbreak during ember months is air becoming dryer, thus encouraging chain reaction of fire.
‘`Another cause is not switching off of electrical appliances when not in use that sometimes result to electrical fire outbreaks in public places like markets, malls and homes, which are often difficult to control because of the dry season,” he said.
Tiamiyu urged people to adopt electrical safety measures by always switching off electrical appliances when not in use and avoiding naked wires.
He said that Lagosians should avoid storage of combustible substances such as petrol and kerosene to avoid fire outbreak.
The LASEMA boss said that the agency would be embark on road show to sensitise Lagosians on the Lagos State Emergency Toll Free Line 112/767 in a bid to stem occurrences of major disasters and emergencies.
He said that LASEMA would also have jingles on various media platforms on emergency prevention/mitigation. (NAN)