Fire Service To Introduce Emergency Help Line

The Federal Fire Service
last Thursday in Abuja said it was set to replace the eleven-digit help line number to three digits to enhance effective response to fire emergencies.
Mr Olusegun Okebiorun, the Controller-General of the service, said this during a news briefing to commemorate the National Fire Safety Day organised by the service with the theme: “Fire Outbreaks: Enemy to All”.
Okebiorun, who was represented by Mr Ademola Jolaosho, the Deputy Controller-General, Administration and Supply, said the service had observed that the public was not using the 11 digits provided by the service.
“We still use 11 digit numbers for our help line and the public has not taken time to know this number,” he said.
Okebiorun said that the public rarely used the number and because response to emergencies depended on communication, making it difficult for the service to respond during cases of fire outbreak.
He noted that another depending factor was proximity of the fire outbreak to a fire station, stating that the farther a fire outbreak was to a fire station the more physical and material damage that would occur.
Okebiorun said that the service was therefore working to produce a device called the “Fire Alert System” which would be used in homes and offices nationwide.
“This system requires a smoke censor and is GSM-based as it will send a message to the owner of a premises or the nearest fire station whenever a fire occurs,” he said.
He said that more emergency communication centres would be commissioned in several states of the federation soon.
“Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) was given the responsibility to ensure that every state has emergency communication centres.
“These centres have been commissioned in two states and we hope more states will be commissioned soon,” he said.
He emphasised the need for every citizen to have the fire safety code as it would educate them on ways to prevent and control fires.
Okebiorun said that before the end of the year, the service would start the enforcement of the provisions of the code to reduce cases of avoidable fire outbreak.
“It is a collective effort as we should learn to engage in activities that will not result in a fire,” he said.
Okebiorun said that the day was held to commemorate officers who lost their lives while fighting to protect and preserve lives and property in the country.
He said that the day was also set aside to focus on fire prevention and the measures to adopt in ensuring that fire did not occur at all.
The controller-general said a day may soon be declared as International Fire Safety Day as the Minister of Interior, Mr Abba Moro, had written to the UN to that effect.