By Bode Olagoke
Abuja
Federal Fire Service (FFS) has cautioned Nigerians to be wary of possible fire outbreaks during the harmattan period, between now and March next year.
Its Controller-General, Engr. Joseph Anebi Garba, issued the warning yesterday at the opening ceremonies of the 2016 National Fire Safety Week held at the agency’s headquarters.
The FFS boss, who said the theme of this year’s event was “Minimising fire outbreaks: Precaution is the answer,” added that uncontrolled fires were avoidable if people understood “how fire starts, its inherent dangers and take precautions to checkmate the threat.”
He said: “We are in the season of incessant fire outbreaks. Quite a lot of fires are recorded between November and March of every year because of the dry wind which readily aids ignition and fire spread.
“Available record shows that during this period, the frequency of fire outbreaks is about three times more than is experienced at other seasons.”
He said most fire outbreaks resulted from human failings, adding that the Service was expected to have equipped the public with the relevant knowledge to cope with fire-related emergencies at the end of the one-week programme.
Activities earmarked for this year’s programme included exhibition of fire service tools and equipment; awareness campaigns on fire prevention measures; public lectures; distribution of fire safety flyers and road shows.
