FCT FIRE SERVICE SAVED 1,999 LIVES, N24BN WORTH PROPERTY – DIRECTOR
By: Wisdom Acka
The FCT Fire Service has said that it saved 1,999 lives and property worth more than twenty four billion naira (N24,774,265,995) from fire outbreaks in the last eleven years.
Acting Director of the Service, Engr. Sani Saidu who made this disclosure during an end of year press briefing in his Asokoro office on Tuesday, added that his men received 5,144 fire calls and made 579 rescues within the period.
According to him, the Service was able to save property worth N4.4 billion from January to September, 2022 from 399 fire calls and 44 rescues, even as he added that there was a decline in number of fire outbreaks from last year compared to this year owing to prevention sensitization exercises carried out by the Service.
Engr. Saidu while assuring residents that his men were determined to continue keeping to the five-minute response time to fire calls, revealed that the FCT Administration was planning on establishing four more fire stations within the city to reduce the response time.
He, however, appealed to residents to always make fire calls on time, saying that if such calls were made late, property would have been lost before arrival of firemen to scenes of fire outbreaks.
He called on the public not to panic but rather exercise caution and do the needful in times of fire outbreaks by having functional fire extinguishers in vehicles and houses, installing fire hydrants and other necessary preventive and control measures.
Commenting on challenges of the Service, Engr. Saidu revealed that most of their equipment such as vehicles among others were too old as some were procured as far back as 1970s.
He, thus, commended the FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani-Aliyu, FCTA Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olusade Adesola and the Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) for their continued support in the discharge of his duties.
The Director disclosed that his organisation recorded other achievements including addition of one fire truck to its fleet in 2019 and four water tenders to existing three in 2020, which have helped to save more lives and property.
Calling on residents to imbibe fire prevention practices during the dry season, Saidu stated that that was a good way of reducing fire outbreaks.