Towards Repositioning Fire Service From Reactive To Proactive Oriented 

The amount of calamity in terms of loss of lives and property destroyed are better imagined than the reality of the magnitude of devastation caused by fire daily across Nigeria. From residential to corporate buildings to market places, the list is endless. 

Another monster in recent times is the menace of explosion of petroleum tankers conveying premium motor spirit otherwise known as fuel to various destinations in parts of the country.

In 2024, over 100 lives were lost, ₦67.1bn assets destroyed by fire. The Controller General of the FFS, Engr. Abdulganiyu Jaji, who gave the figures also noted that the servicesuccessfully saved assets valued at ₦1.94 trillion and rescued 30,890 lives.

The Fire Service was established in 1901 as an arm of the then Lagos Police FireBrigade while in April, 1963, the Federal FireService was established by an act of parliament with the mandate of the sole responsibility of mitigation, prevention and extinction of fireand other emergencies as well as perform other sundry duties as delegated by the Minister of Interior.

Another concern in most fire incidence scenario has been the issue of timely communication and that of immediate response to mitigate or tackle such incidence as they occur to save lives and property across the country. For instance, during a recent fireoutbreak in Masaka Market in Nasarawa State close to Abuja city in which goods worth millions of Naira were destroyed, effective communication to get to the appropriate agency for timely response was reportedly a challenge.

 Unfortunately, that has been the case in most fire outbreaks and other disasters in Nigeria leading to avoidable losses.

The Minister of Interior. Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo while speaking on how to reposition the nation’s Federal Fire Servicestressed that fire serviceis beyond fire.

 Towards this, he said his ministry is targeting efforts at manpower development to make the National FireAcademy the best in West Africa.

 “And we realised that the quality that we were getting from most private guard companies was not up to standard. I think it’s just how to make the best fire academy in West Africa or the best in Africa. That is what we’re trying to do because we understand that fire service is beyond fire.

“It should be a rescue agency. It should be an agency that should be rescue-oriented, just like it’s done all over the world. So, the fireacademy that can provide that type of training is what we’re actually working on.

“And of course, the communication systems too, to be able for the people, because effective, timely ability to report emergency situations, maybe fire, maybe flood, maybe accident or whatever, timely is very key in saving lives. A second is as important as anything when it comes to that. So we thought that you can’t expect people to be running from their houses to the station or whatever,” the minister maintained.

The minister also harped on effective law to make fire servicemore efficient and in tune with modern practice.

“So we’re creating a solution that will be able to automate that particular service. And of course, we spoke about manpower capacity development, which is a key thing that we’re talking about. Now one thing that’s very important in the fire service is also the issue of the law. Because the FireService Act, I think it’s the Fire Service Act of 1968, that’s the one we use. And at the moment, it’s undergoing legislative action. And by the grace of God, very soon it will go into effect,” Dr Olubunmi-Ojo said.

According to the minister, when the ongoing legislative action is done on the Fire Service Act, it is expected not only to empower the FireService as an operator but as well as a regulator and in the process provide job opportunity to the youth.

“If you open up a space and be able to empower the fire service to not just be an operator, but to be a regulator as well as an enumerator with these three responsibilities we know hundreds of thousands of jobs will be created for our youths. And there will be a big divide line for our youths in terms of career choice, in life.”

He commended the government on the distribution of firetrucks across the country even as he stressed the need for a lifeline even in the remote village to save life and property in the event of fire outbreak or any disaster in any part of the country. 

He equally spoke of efforts to move the FireService from detective and reactive agency to a rather proactive one that will be alive to delivering its mandate to the overall good of the citizenry. 

“And of course, this government has always seemed to be very good at distribution of firetrucks. Even though those fire trucks were purchased, they were awarded before we got into office. But we’re sure that they were delivered and they were well distributed across the country.

“I always believe that a line in the most remote areas is as important as a line in Abuja or anywhere else. So we have to align with the geographical spread, align with federal character, and align with the unity of our country to ensure that these fire trucks are well distributed.

“And of course, we think that the fireservice too needs to move from a detective, the reactive agency, to a proactive agency. And that’s why the key thing that we are still doing is the issue of advocacy, and of course, for us to be able to have individual fire officers that can combat, you know, some of these rescue services at the elementary state before it gets to that particular point. And of course, the number of lives that the fire service has saved has increased in the last one year.

“The number of properties saved, going into hundreds of billions of Naira, has also increased. So, it means that we have a more reactive, a moreproactive fire service. Yes, we are not yet where we want to be, but we believe that with the passage of the law, we will have the power legally to be able to be innovative in terms of having a technologically driven fire service in Nigeria.”

Already, Engr. Jaji had highlighted the increasing frequency of gas and petrol tanker explosions, as well as filling station fires, and called for stricter safety protocols and urgent reforms, technological advances to take the Fire Service to where it ought to be.