By Adoyi M Abah
Abuja
The Federal Fire Service (FFS) has said that it would sanction any person who failed to comply to the National fire safety code in putting up public structures in the country.
Mr. Joseph Anebi, Controller- General of the service made the disclosure at an interactive session with newsmen yesterday in Abuja.
He urged Nigerians to always seek the advice of the service before embarking on building public structures.
“Always send your building plans to the service for vetting and review to forestall fire out breaks,”he said.
Anebi, who decried the incessant fire outbreaks in the country, attributed most of the incidents to carelessness of some Nigerians.
He said that the service had fined some filling stations in Kubwa and Mararaba in the FCT and Nasarawa state respectively for failing to adhere to the national safety code.
The controller- General said that the service had been carrying out risk assessment of some public buildings in the country.
Anebi said that funding had been one of the challenges hampering the effective service delivery by the service, adding that there was hope for the service with the new administration in place.
“We have been having challenges in the area of funding but the new administration has shown concern for the service.
“With the 2016 budget we hope for a good future for the service,”he said.
He said that in spite of the funding challenge, the service has been able to discharge its mandate to some extent
On synergy with state fire services, Anebi said that most of them had refused to collaborate with the service.
He said that those who are collaborating were reaping the benefits of the collaboration.
Anebi said that on several occasions they have failed to attend meetings of Directors of state fire service held at the instance of the Federal fire service in Abuja.
He caution Nigerians against fire out breaks by ensuring that they put off all electrical appliances before leaving the house.
The controller-General also advised that every family should have fire extinguisher at home in case of a fire outbreak.
