Fire Service Flags Off Safety Week In Imo

Ahead of the onset of harmatan in Imo State, the acting State Controller Federal Fire Service Zone R Headquarters Imo State Command, ACF Felix Elozieuwa has warned residents to turn off all electric gadgets when outside the house.

Elozieuwa made the call during his welcome address at the flag off of the National Fire Safety Week for Imo State in Owerri on Tuesday, to checkmate fire outbreaks with the theme “building a culture of fire safety across Nigeria”.

He disclosed that fire incidents occurred more during the harmatan season when fire spread easily and fast.

Elozieuwa called on Imo State residents to take precautions to avoid fire outbreaks in their homes, offices, businesses, and surroundings.

According to him, it was unsafe to leave appliances on while outside the house, overloading sockets with several gadgets, and not properly extinguishing cigarette butts.

He said gas cylinders should be kept outside the kitchen while camping gas should be used along the verandah and not in the kitchen.

Elozieuwa said, “We have started the campaign for everyone to remove burning materials from heat sources because every fire starts small and leaves devastating effects. This is to address the ‘not my portion’ mentality of Nigerians which is very common.

“Please keep match sticks out of the reach of children so that they don’t fiddle with it, including candlesticks. Smokers should please put out cigarette butts entirely before they dispose of them to avoid fire. When you turn on your freezers and fridges, please ensure someone is in the house in case of power surges to avoid fire outbreak.

“Ensure your gas cylinders are not in the kitchen, we advise you puncture the wall and pass it through the wall outside. Use camp gas at the corridors not in the kitchen when cooking. And dispose waste bins properly so that the dryness doesn’t trigger fire. This is not the time to burn bushes please because it will spread”, Elozieuwa said.

In a lecture, a Fire Service operative, Kelechi Igwe explained the importance of fire safety measures beyond declarations of ‘not my portion’, saying fire outbreak leaves devastating effects worse than armed robbery attacks.

There were representatives from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), D. Myegba, who commended the Fire fighters for the lecture on fire safety.

Other agencies that attended were the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Nigerian Immigration Service, Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, Nigerian Correctional Centre, Federal Road Safety Commission, and others.