Firefighting equipment grounded in states amid rising incidents
Firefighting equipment and facilities are in ruins in many states across the country thereby making it nearly impossible for firefighters to respond to emergencies, investigation by Daily Trust has revealed.
Daily Trust reports that in most of the places visited, firefighting equipment have become relics and the offices are in shambles, and where few facilities and vehicles are found, they lack personnel.
In many countries, the fire service has the statutory responsibility of fire prevention, mitigation, fighting, as well as paramedical and information services.
Also, firefighters are meant to help protect the public in emergency situations. They are supposed to also respond to a variety of emergency calls such as for car crashes, chemical spills, flooding, water rescue and general rescue.
Although some of the responsibilities of the fire service have been ceded to other agencies in Nigeria, recent gory incidents of petrol tanker and market fires show that the service does not have the capacity to deliver the few responsibilities under its jurisdiction. This is both at the national and state levels.
Situation in states
In Plateau, investigations reveal that only a few fire trucks are functional. At the headquarters in Jos South, our correspondent observed that only the platform being used for addressing emergencies in high rise buildings and a single 5,000-litre truck are functional.
Five grounded trucks are left in ruins within the premises, while the firefighters use a make-shift structure made from corrugated roofing sheets as office.
The Director of Plateau State Fire Service, Samuel Musa Nzwak, said four fire trucks, including a single hydraulic platform, were supplied to the department in 2013, and that the directorate was waiting for the contractors to deliver two additional trucks.
Daily Trust reports that the last major fire disaster in Plateau State was the midnight fire that engulfed a section of Timber B in Laranto Market in Jos North that destroyed property worth millions of naira.
Cross River
There is only one firefighting truck with only a few personnel at the Cross River State Fire Service. Sources also said there was no firefighting equipment at the governor’s office and residence.
An official confided in Daily Trust that a handful of personnel in the state fire service or victims mostly contributed to buy diesel, water, chemical or hoses to attend to emergencies in the capital city, Calabar. The official who would not want his name in print, said even the Federal Fire Service in the state did not have any equipment on ground.
He said, “Although we have a few and well trained personnel, if there should be fire outbreak now in Calabar, even at close proximity, we won’t be able to handle it because of lack of trucks, funds and other equipment, including diesel.”
Kogi
In Kogi State, there is only one firefighting truck at the fire service in Lokoja and coupled with inadequate personnel makes it impossible for the service to effectively respond to fire outbreaks.
Daily Trust findings reveal that although there are two firefighting trucks at the department, only one is available to serve all the 21 local government areas of the state. It was equally gathered that the available firefighting truck had been without tyres for long until recently when effort was made to fix them.
Sources said lack of funds often prevented the agency from fuelling the truck for operations.
Although the agency had 185 personnel when it was established, the number has depleted to 19 due to retirement and deaths. The Director of the Kogi State Fire Agency, Yusuf OjoJimoh, said they had been doing their best in addressing fire outbreaks in the state.
Edo
There are two firefighting equipment and two water tankers, but they are not readily available during fire incidents in Edo State. There have been three major fire incidents in the state in 2019: at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), at the Uwelu Spare Parts Market and at Satama Market.
Property worth millions of naira were lost to the fires while close to 200 shops were burnt down.
Kebbi
The Operations Officer of the fire department in Kebbi State, Bashir Bello, said the fire department did not have a functional vehicle to quickly respond to distress calls. Bello said, “We are only managing three old trucks out of nine trucks that have grounded. We lack other firefighting equipment such as boots, jackets, hoses and branches that release water with pressure. In many instances, we cannot respond quickly to distress calls because we are incapacitated by lack of these equipment.”
Anambra
In Anambra State, the recent fuel tanker explosion in Onitsha which claimed lives and property worth billions of naira has been described as “a clear manifestation that all is not well with the state fire service.”
The President General of OhanezeNdi Igbo, Chief NniaNwodo, visited the scene and expressed disappointment over the attitude of government agencies towards handling of the Onitsha tanker explosion.
Chief Nwodo reportedly said, “It is a shame to the government for not providing enough firefighting equipment to Onitsha market despite the huge internally generated revenue the commercial city was bringing to the state government’s coffers.”
Daily Trust findings further reveal that the manpower of the state fire service in Anambra has been depleted without replacement over the years, which has been affecting its efficiency.
Rivers
In the oil-rich Rivers State, the state fire service station beside the popular Isaac Boro Park in Port Harcourt is a relic of rust and decay, Daily Trust reports.
Our reporter who visited the station identified seven out of 10 trucks at the premises grounded, while others have their tyres deflated, even as some parts in the trucks have been vandalised.
A source from the station who pleaded anonymity told our reporter that the station had only three functional trucks, and blamed the state government for poor funding.
He said they relied on Shell, Total and Agip to respond to emergency situations.
Taraba
Daily Trust findings show that the firefighting vehicles supplied to the 16 local government areas by the state government have been sold out by 14 local government councils. At the headquarters of the state fire service department, it was discovered that only one out of three firefighting vehicles is functional. Similarly, out of three firefighting vehicles at the Jalingo airport, only one is functional.
The Director of Fire Service in the state, Mr. Sale Mijinyawa, said there was need for additional modern firefighting equipment, and added that staff in the department also needed to be properly trained.
Mijinyawa also confirmed the selling of firefighting vehicles by 14 local government councils.
Kano
In Kano, fire outbreaks such as the one in SabonGari Market in July, 2016, and that of KantinKwari in March, 2010, had raised public concerns.
Observers said the two incidents also showed that there was need for an upgrade of the fire service; state and federal.
The spokesman of the Kano State Fire Service, Sa’iduHaruna, said the service had 21 functional firefighting vehicles in its 27 stations across the state, six water tankers and three ambulances.
Findings showed that there were five vehicles at the headquarters of the Kano fire Service; including three fire fighting trucks, an ambulance and a Hilux van.
Kwara
In Kwara, it was discovered that there are only four firefighting trucks across the state. The state Director of Fire Service, Mr. WaheedYakubu, said the four trucks were shared to serve the whole state with two trucks in Ilorin, one at Offa and the other at Omun-Aran.
Benue
In Benue, there were three recent major fire incidents which wrecked havoc at different locations in the state.
The first was the Wadata Market fire which razed a large section of the precolonial market situated by the River Benue in Makurdi Metropolis.
Witnesses said the fire lasted for about five hours before it was brought under control.
Another major fire outbreak was barely two weeks after the Wadata Market incident when a petrol tanker exploded at Ahumbe Village along the Makurdi-Aliade-Otukpo Highway in Gwer East Local Government Area.
Our correspondent who visited the state fire service headquarters along Police Barracks Road in Makurdi observed a deserted dilapidated building except for only two rooms standing.
It was also observed that seven operational vehicles parked at the premises are no longer functional, while two new ones had left for an emergency.
The Director of the state fire service, Engr. Donald Ikyaaza, emphasised the need for more firefighting vehicles and resuscitation of moribund outstations, as well as chemicals that would be used in fighting fire.
Gombe
In Gombe, the state fire service has been grounded for several months after its operational vehicles were taken for refurbishment, Daily Trust gathered.
Investigation reveals that there are only three firefighting vehicles and two water tanks that serve the headquarters of the fire service and the outstation at the Gombe Main Market. The vehicles are said to be grounded as a result of overworking for years without proper maintenance.
Our correspondent reports that residents of Gombe Metropolis resort to self-help during emergencies.
The Chief Fire Operations Officer, HarunaWambai, said in the last two weeks after the vehicles were refurbished, they had successfully attended to five fire outbreaks and saved lives and property worth millions of naira.
Nasarawa
In Nasarawa, it was gathered that property worth about about N60m were destroyed by fire between January and June, 2019.
The state’s Chief Fire Officer, Alhaji DogaraDalhatu, said, “My staff responded to 82 distress calls, out of which 75 were fire outbreaks and seven calls for rescue.”
Alhaji Dogara said the main challenge of the service was that people did not report fire outbreaks on time and that they did not give way to firefighters on their way to answer distress calls.
Jigawa
Thirty one people lost their lives in the last nine months as a result of fire outbreaks in Jigawa State, while 337 others were saved by the personnel of the state fire service within the same period, Daily Trust gathered.
The state Director of Fire Service, Ahmed DanyaroGumel, said from January to September, 2019, the service received 191 fire calls and 29 distressed calls.
Gumel explained that within the period, property worth N194m were lost to fire disaster and property worth more than N300m were saved. He said they had 21 firefighting vehicles in the state and that two were grounded, “eight serviceable and another eight unserviceable.”
Katsina
In Katsina, most of the fire outbreaks were as a result of electric power surge at markets or higher institutions and were handled by the state fire service with support from individuals. Investigation shows that the state fire service has over 12 functional firefighting vehicles with three new ones that were inaugurated two years ago.
Osun
The Osun State Fire Service said between January and September, 2019, property worth about N400m were destroyed by fires, while N18bn worth of property were saved through prompt intervention. The Director of fire service in the state, Dr. Ogundipe Michael lamented that the state fire service was grossly understaffed and not adequately equipped.
Federal Fire Service mum
The spokesperson of the Federal Fire Service, Ugo Huan, was contacted to respond to Daily Trust’s findings but she failed to do so.
Huan had requested for questions to be sent via WhatsApp but did not answer them.
An expert in disaster and risk management, Joseph Sani, told Daily Trust that, “when there is no fire truck and they call for emergency, there is no way a fireman will turn out. Once there is no fire truck on ground in a station, the firemen in that station are handicapped as they can’t go for any operation.”
The expert lamented the lack of fire truck in most fire stations across the country, stressing that state governments were being reluctant to invest in their respective fire services.
“Millions of naira and lives are being lost to fire disasters across the country as the few fire stations we have can hardly meet our needs. The Federal Government procured some fire trucks recently to replace the aging ones but they are grossly inadequate.”
Sani said for better fire fighting, more investment was needed from federal and state governments as well as corporate entities. “The harmattan is here and more fire disasters are expected. I am calling on Nigerians to take precautions while authorities do their part as well,” he said.