Fire Service saves N87.72bn investments, tackles three explosions, others in six months
Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service (LSFRS) in the first half of the year tackled three explosions; two collapsed buildings, rescued 117 persons and got a total of 924 calls related to fire incidents in the state.
A total of 1,462 emergencies were recorded between January and June. The distressed calls included fire – 924, rescue – 92, salvage – 41 and false calls – 400.
In the mid-year activity report, 42 deaths were recorded. The estimated properties saved were about N87.72 billion, leaving those lost to N14.62 billion.
The agency also recorded 400 false calls with the highest recorded in January.
In the report made available to The Guardian and signed by Deputy Director, Public Affairs, LSFRS, Agboola Ololade, the agency rescued 17 persons in January, five in February, 107 in March, and 21 in April, while it rescued 12 persons in May and 15 in June.
Properties worth N3.18 billion were lost to fire in January, N2.88 billion in February; N2.39 billion in March; N2.56 billion in April; N2.56 billion in May and N1.37 billion in June.
The Director of the Agency, Margaret Adeseye, said the agency is the first and major responder to emergencies/disasters in the state and has been committed to meeting its mandate.
She disclosed that fire incidents increased considerably from the same period compared to the previous year. She said the agency’s investigations showed that carelessness and negligence were the major causes of the disaster.
She also noted that there was increase in unfavourable calls due to the change of strategy on how they respond to distress calls without double-checking for false calls.
Other factors causing increase in disasters include climate change and proliferation of domestic gas usage as alternative to fuel.
The Fire Service boss urged the public to desist from habits that may put unnecessary pressure on the agency’s operations in the state, while assuring of having what it takes to ensure the mitigation of fire outbreaks.
She advised Lagosians to be safety conscious, especially with the advent of gas as alternative source of fuel, which has come to stay.
