The Nasarawa State Fire Service has urged property developers in the state to always present their building plans to the agency for scrutiny and advice to prevent fire outbreaks.

The Chief Fire Officer of  the state, Alhaji Dogara Dalhatu, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia on Tuesday.

Dalhatu said that presenting the building plans would enable the service officials to have adequate knowledge of the kind of structure being planned for construction.

He said the service would also look at the type of materials to be used, so as to advise the developers on the best steps to take to prevent fire outbreaks.

He said the call for scrutiny of building plans was a vital preventive measure in line with the Federal Government’s fire building code enforcement.

According to the chief fire officer, the code entails knowledge of nature of structure for various buildings in the country to ensure safety and quard against destruction in case of fire incidence.

“This fire code entails what individual structures should possess both for private and public buildings.

“So, if you want to build a structure, you must bring your building plans to the fire service for scrutiny.

“We will tell you what is needed in the building to prevent fire outbreak and what to do in case of fire emergencies,” he said.

Dalhatu also said fire officers needed constant training and retraining to have the capacity to know and educate developers on the safest steps to take and the best materials to use when building a house.

He said that training and retraining would expose the firemen to the modern and effective methods of fighting any fire outbreaks.

“We need both local and international training because every now and then, new technologies come into the market.

“Our fire men need to understand how best to handle fire outbreaks and the best materials that will not easily catch fire so that they can advise developers appropriately.

“For me, that is another part of implementation strategy, that if taken, we will succeed with fire management in the state and country,” he said.

Dalhatu also advised property owners and residents to always be fire conscious.

HE said a serious aspect of fire prevention would be achieved with fire consciousness which helped to guide against panic but to take proactive steps to prevent or mitigate a fire outbreak.

“Fire consciousness is a serious aspect of fire prevention. Once you are fire conscious, you are already aware of what to do and what not do to prevent fire and what to do during a fire outbreak.

“Next is to have first aid and fire fighting equipment in your vicinity, like fire extinguisher.

“There are also certain gadgets that should be in your structure to detect any smoke or flame so that even when you are asleep, it will raise alarm,” Dalhatu added. (NAN)

– Jul. 24, 2018 @ 17:35 GMT |

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