Fire Service wants review of Act for better service delivery
NAN-DS-6
Act
By Angela Atabo
Abuja, Nov. 10, 2016 (NAN) The Federal Fire Service on Thursday called for the review of its Act for better service delivery.
Mr Quintus Azogu, the Assistant Controller-General and Head, Policy Regulatory and Inspectorate Department of the organisation, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that there was need to repeal the present act.
Azogu said that the act when upgraded would allow the service carry out some enforcement on fire safety, including search and rescue operations.
He said there were lots to be done in terms of fire service delivery, especially as it had to do with compliance to the National Fire Safety Code that people hardly observed.
He said that the Code, when fully complied with, would give room for fire safety in the country and curb inferno in the markets, as it contained standards to be followed when erecting buildings and markets.
He said that while constructing a building, there was the need for vetting the designs to ensure that appropriate fire safety features were provided right from the design stage.
Azogu said that during construction, there were design features that should be included and ensured were not degraded in the course of construction.
“ For example, you must have a means of escape in a building, you must have a means of warning, in case of fire outbreak, and there has to be a means of fighting the fire.
“So, when these things are at the level where the fire service is not involved, it will be disastrous since they are the first aid fire fighting requirements.
“There is the need to compel people to ensure they have a fire extinguisher, they must also have a fire indicator and a means of escape; this is what we look out for when we vet building.
“Thus, in construction, we check the kind of materials being used to make sure the means of escape are adequately situated, and check the kind of spacing to see if it allows for our access in case of an emergency,’’ he said.
Azogu said this was what the service should be doing even in the states, but that most of the state fire services were not so developed to provide these services.(NAN)
ATAB/KOLE/AMY
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Edited by Remi Koleoso and Abdullahi Yusuf