The
unremitting frequency of fire outbreaks in Nigeria is to say the least, very
distressing especially during the harmattan season. Earlier this year, Heritage
Mall Ibadan and a section of the Sam Mbakwe Cargo airport, Imo State were
gutted by fire, the later resulted in flight delays and cancellations. This
week, multiple fire incidents engulfed two markets in Lagos - the popular
Balogun and Okobaba Plank markets. Also in Lagos State, fire outbreaks took
place in Marina (500 Shops were razed), at a warehouse in Mosheshe Industrial
Estate, Kirikiri, and in Sabo Yaba. At the time of writing this piece, Lagos
State witnessed more than 15 fire outbreaks within 72 hours in the second week
of January 2015.
The Lagos State Fire Service recorded about 188 fire
incidents in 2012 while the annual rate of fire outbreaks in Nigeria is
estimated to be about 7,000 resulting in slightly more than 1,000 deaths. The
Nigerian sphere is replete with agonizing tales of fire disasters; it is
difficult to keep tabs on all fire incidents in Nigeria as most of the cases go
unreported. According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), about
4,090 people were displaced by fire incidents in North West Nigeria in 2014.
Apart from possible human casualties, there fire incidents destroyed
properties, goods worth billions of naira. While conspiracy theorists blame
foul play and mysterious circumstances for some of the fire incidents in
Nigeria, the NEMA reckons about 90% of such incidents are caused by human
negligence and personal habits which will be highlighted in this essay.
Tinged by this recurring incident and desirous of seeing it
curtailed, I apportioned some time to investigate the remote and immediate
causes of incessant fire outbreaks in Nigeria. The following are at least 18 recommendations that will go a long way
in forestalling, mitigating persistent fire outbreaks in Nigeria:
1.
Characteristic
of what obtains in most advanced countries of the world; it is pertinent that
the three tiers of the Nigerian government – federal, state and local
government areas have functioning Fire Service Departments peopled with
competent, passionate, routinely trained and well-remunerated, motivated
personnel. The capabilities of the Fire Service must be stepped up by providing
them with requisite state-of-the-art firefighting equipment so they can respond
more efficiently during fire outbreaks. Not just the government, corporate bodies
and individuals must also invest in safety equipment, measures to forestall
fire outbreaks.
2.
Nigerians
must embrace the culture of subscribing to
insurance, indemnities that cover their homes, properties, personal
effects, businesses etc. This will minimize losses in the event of a fire
outbreak or other natural disasters.
3.
Nigerians
must have the emergency telephone numbers of the fire service and the security
agencies on their phones as the numbers will come in handy if and when there is
an emergency.
4.
The
relevant Nigerian authorities must guard against indiscriminately situating
petrol stations too close to residential apartments. Stringent safety measures
must be put in place if petrol stations are to be sited close to residential
apartments.
5.
Organizations must carry out periodic risk assessment
of their premises/facilities, put in place and routinely train staff on
comprehensive fire emergency evacuation plans, drills and procedures which must
encompass actions to be taken on discovering fire or hearing a fire alarm,
identification of key escape routes, places of assembly and roll call amongst
others.
6.
Always
ensure you switch off or unplug electrical appliances (at home and in the
office) when not in use from the socket because a voltage surge could destroy
your gadgets and worse still, an inferno may ensue. If you can, please invest
in a good surge protector; they are not quite expensive these days. Don’t
patronize low quality, used (second hand) electrical extensions, sockets and
wires.
7.
Guard
against overloading electrical sockets/outlets with a lot of
appliances at the same time to prevent sparks that may lead to fire.
8.
Consult an expert (an electrical engineer/electrician)
if your electrical appliance(s) malfunctions; fixing it by yourself may be dangerous
if it is not well done.
9.
Never
store petrol or pyrotechnics (knockouts) inside your apartments. Given our
generator-driven economy/society, there is a tendency for people to store
petrol within reach thereby endangering their lives should a fire outbreak
occur.
10.
Ensure
you put candles out before going to bed or leaving your abode, better to use a
good candle stand. Also desist from throwing matchstick indiscriminately
without ensuring the light is completely quenched.
11.
For
smokers, don’t dispose spent cigarette butts indiscriminately and avoid smoking
while lying on your bed so as not to sleep off while still having a half-lit
cigarette on your hand which can easily cause an inferno if it drops on the rug
carpet or a mattress.
12.
Gas
cookers and cylinders must be kept in good conditions at all times to avoid
sludge or grease from building up and must be routinely checked for leakage.
13. Fire retardants, extinguishers must
be kept within reach in our homes, offices, cars and everybody, children
inclusive should be thought how to operate a fire extinguisher.
14. Desist from refueling your generator
while it is still running. Better to have enough petrol that will last an
estimated duration. It is advisable to stop the generator, refuel it and start
it again especially if it is the poorly serviced type that smokes. Similarly,
generators should be kept in a place that allows cross-ventilation because of
the carbon monoxide fumes. Entire families have been wiped out by carbon
monoxide fumes.
15. If you reside in an environment with
proximity to bushes, make out time to clear or cut down the shrubs, trees
within your fence or house. Similarly, folks must desist from indiscriminate
bush burning especially during the harmattan season.
16.
Fire alarms, smoke detectors are
affordable these days; ensure you install them in your homes/offices. It is
also advisable to have a thunder
arrestor on your building; it dispels electrical charges or current away from
the building to the earth in the event of a thunder storm.
17.
In the event of a fire outbreak, road users and residents will do
well to give fire fighters easy access to the scene of a fire outbreak. Folks,
hoodlums must desist from vandalizing and looting properties during a fire
incident.
18.
As a matter of urgency, the Federal and Lagos
state government must liaise and relocate the plethora of petrol tank farms in
Apapa, Lagos State as this is a national disaster waiting to happen if adequate
steps are not taken to do the needful. Not just in Lagos state but every other
part of Nigeria where such facilities are inappropriately located. Envisage the
far-reaching consequences of any of the petrol tank farms, depots been
sabotaged by terrorists. Before we say our traditional ‘God forbid’, let us be
proactive and avoid shirking our responsibilities. God is not always in the
habit of doing for us, that which He has already empowered us to do for
ourselves by ourselves. As they say, prevention is better than cure.
Written By:
Don Okereke
(Security
Aficionado/Analyst/Consultant, Writer/Blogger, Change Agent, Ex-serviceman)
Follow me on Twitter:
@DonOkereke
Contact me via:
donuait@yahoo.com
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