Daily Independent Online.
*
Wednesday, June 30, 2004.
Incessant fire blamed on disrespect for law
By Sunny Igboanugo
metro editor
Constant fire outbreaks that have been causing havoc
in many parts of Lagos metropolis in recent times have been blamed on
residents’ lack of respect for relevant laws in the country aimed at
curbing the menace.
There had been an upsurge of fire outbreaks in the
last few months including the one that consumed goods worth about N5billion
recently and another that razed a gas distribution outfit at Ikeja a fortnight
ago where equipment valued at millions of naira were said to have equally
destroyed.
Before then, there had been other recent fire
outbreaks at the former federal secretariat in Lagos, where the Lagos office of
the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) was
completely burnt down.
Another fire outbreak occurred at the federal
government owned 1004 flats in Victoria Island, where the combined efforts of
fire fighters and resident succeeded in saving the sprawling edifice from being
consumed after the early-morning fire had licked two flats.
An official of the Federal Fire Service who did not
want to be named told Daily Independent on Monday that much of the blame for
the worrisome situation should be placed on many people that had no regard for
laws put in place to check the situation.
He lamented that most companies, for instance who
were supposed to install fire safety measures had failed to take such steps
even after being aware of existing laws, adding that many of the high-rise
buildings that dot the state were built without full compliance for fire
safety.
This, coupled with inadequate support from the
relevant governments, federal and state, in terms of provision and maintenance
of fire-fighting equipment and the absence of public infrastructure such as
running water had according to him compounded the situation.
“You see, most of the people in this country
especially these big companies have no respect for the relevant laws. Is not
that they don’t know, but because of the Nigerian factor, they choose to
ignore what they are supposed to do. When we go to tell them, what we see is
that we are treated with contempt, because the system allows them to be in
direct contact with those at the helm of affairs, the big politicians in Abuja,
who in the first place could be the owners of such companies or have
substantial interests. So we are prevented from doing much in terms of
punishing them.
“In all these companies, you hardly see anybody
who is trained as a firefighter of fire engineer. What you have are very old
men who combine the job of security and fireman. Our men are supposed to be
posted there, especially for those dealing with high-risk equipment, but they
will not be ready to pay the cost, because they will find it too heavy. Yet
when it happens we will bear the blame. Most of the fires you see start from a
small point, just a little smoke. It takes an expert to know what to do at such
a point. But when such an expert is not there what you see is the type of
catastrophe that we have been noticing”, he said.
He also decried the absence of maintenance culture in the
country, a trend that had equally led to avoidable fatalities adding that the
tendency must be changed if the country hoped to enjoy what was available in
other countries. “Look at a place the 1004 flats. The planners of that
place know that it required a fire service. But go there today, there is no
single equipment there. Everything has been cannibalized. If they had been
working, perhaps those two flats that were burnt would have been saved”,
he added.
