Fire Service using equipment procured in 1996 – FG

The Federal Government has decried that the Federal Fire Service is still using the equipment procured between 1985 and 1996.
This is even as the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the procurement of some fire-fighting equipment for the service.
Briefing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting, Interior Minister Abdulrahman Dambazzau stated: "This Service, the last time equipment was procured was sometime in 1996. So, the equipment in the inventory today were those procured between 1985 and 1996, and since then, there was no procurement."
The minister said on assumption of duty, he went round the fire service stations across the country and was surprised to discover dearth of fire-fighting equipment.
"And with our experiences on fire incidences all over the country, we discovered that such a situation should no longer hold and therefore we reflected that in the 2016 budget. So, this approves procurement will go a long way to provide the Service with the necessary equipment. This is just a start. Like I said, the last time it was procured was in 1996. We're also hoping that the 2017 budget will avail us the opportunity to procure more equipment for the Federal Fire Service. And of course, the fire training school, I've visited there, I'm making some efforts to also improve our existing facilities.
"In addition to that, we also intend to partner with an entity in reference to training in fire services, particularly in the oil and gas sector. And in that way, we'll be able to improve the capacity of the personnel to be able to carry out its services knowing full well that the various ethnic states too have their individual fire services. Most of these fire incidences happen in states like Kano, Kebbi and Lagos. We're also going to partner with the stage government."
Dambazzau said he had consulted with various ministries and states to carry out preventive measures with a view to ensuring that every building in the metropolis has the necessary fire equipment like fire hydrants.
When asked: “Will you be bold enough to close government structures who are not complying with the fire building code?”
The minister replied saying President Muhammadu Buhari raised the issue of non-compliance with the fire building code during the meeting.
"For instance, every building is expected to have water sprinklers, fire extinguishers, etc. So, we're going to have a kind of stakeholders' meeting that will involve relevant ministries like FCT, Works, Housing, Environment, etc. We'll also invite professional organisations like the institute of builders and architects so that we can discuss how we can ensure safety," he said.
Source : Daily Trust.