Aside from armed conflicts and violence, fire incidents are one menace depopulating Nigerian citizens. Data from the WHO indicate that about 0.48% of Nigerians died from fire incidents in the year 2020, a figure representing 7,132 of the total accumulation, while an increase in the accidents was recorded in the year 2022, with over 2,056 cases while losing over N1 trillion from mysterious fire incidents in the country.
However, with an increase in millionaires being relegated to the vulnerable status by mysterious fire incidences in Nigeria, findings by Daily Episode revealed how victims’ negligence and poor or no response to fire incidences by the fire service are increasing the menace that is constantly consuming lives, businesses and properties in the country.
Victims plights
“A sad trial and harrowing encounter in my life—nothing was spared in my shop—everything went down to ashes as I lost goods worth N18 million in my store,” a trader, Malam Audu—real name hide—recounts while granting an interview to Daily Episode 24 Hours after the unfortunate fire incidence at Belcom Plaza located at Kasuwan Barci Market in Kaduna, northwest Nigeria.
According to him, it is unfortunate that government agencies, both the state and federal fire services, failed to respond to the mysterious fire that erupted in their business centers despite the distress calls. People were crying for help and in extreme need of firefighters to extinguish the fire and rescue goods and properties worth millions of Naira at a distance of no fewer than three kilometers from our shops to the fire service station at Tudun Wada community in the Kaduna South local government area.
Believe me, the government has failed us, but our creator, who tried us with this fire incident, will surely provide a means of recovery, Audu stated while shedding tears of loss in agony and pain.
Daily Episode gathered that the fire incident has also left no fewer than 200 people helpless while about 21 shops, goods, and valuables worth millions of naira burned, adding to the vulnerable figures in the country.
However, Mahmud Yusuf, the chairman of the Belcom Plaza shop owners’ narration, differs from Audu’s total fault on the part of the fire service, which failed to respond to the businessmen’s calls to quench and extinguish the mysterious fire to rescue their goods and the property they occupy for business.
Yusuf disclosed that the fire incident started from a generator. According to him, a tailor in the plaza sent his apprentice to fuel the generator while it was on and working; a mistake by the yet-to-be-mentioned apprentice resulted in the incident.
Within two to three minutes, the fire engulfed the whole building, including shops, machines, tools, and materials, and every essential was burned to ashes. As people were running, shouting, and crying for help, only a few among us threw some things outside, which were also stolen by miscreants.
I also lost everything; as a tailor, I couldn’t survive with a tape measure. The fire services couldn’t even help because they were also scared to come and be stoned by miscreants or errant boys who only hoped for a disaster to happen so they could steal, he lamented.
Like this story building “Belcom Plaza” belonging to the late Alh. Ahmadu Chanchangi’s wife in Kaduna, many traders, properties, and businesses, including major markets in the Nigerian states of Lagos, Kano, Borno, and Enugu, among others, have counted high or total losses in fire incidents from no responses or poor responses to fire incidences by the authorities responsible for the prevention and control of the disaster, “Fire Service.”.
Fire service mandates, responses, and challenges in the line of duty
According to Science District, the standard time for emergency response is five minutes; that’s why, during an emergency, time is precious, just as acting before complaining is, because any delay endangers lives or property. But in Nigeria, respecting such standards is a favor despite the government’s responsibility to protect lives and properties.
While responding to Daily Episode in regards to the mysterious fire that erupted at Belcon Plaza with subjects to the victims Yusuf and Audu’s submission to the zero response or no attempts to extinguish the mysterious fire, Aliyu Baba, a fire superintendent and communication officer at the Kaduna State Fire Service, discloses the threat to life and gadget, lack of fuel in their firefighting engines and water tankers as a reason.
Many of our personnel, vehicles, and other gadgets have been attacked several times; we mostly receive calls while the fire has risen to its highest level. With our busy roads and substandard equipment, arriving early may not always be possible, but people have failed to understand our plight. He claims
However, the response of Baba could be against the Fire Service Act of 1963, which charged and required the fire service to assume the responsibility of extinguishing, controlling, and preventing fires.
This also signifies that the protection of lives and properties during a fire outbreak may be their primary responsibility, as required by the 1963 Act.
But given reason to believe that threats to life or a lack of fuel are real, maybe just common and not considerable, security agencies can tackle such situations while governments must provide every available demand of the agencies, as we have seen on their budgets, spending billions of naira.
Last year, the Nigerian Ministry of Interior, under the leadership of former governor of Osun state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, disclosed that about N10.4b was spent on infrastructure upgrades, the procurement of firefighting engines, 15 water tankers, 15 rapid intervention fire engines, and 20 basic life support ambulances to improve service delivery.
How victims’ negligence and harmful practices are fueling the fire incidents that are consuming lives and properties in Nigeria.
Despite laws regulating the use, imports and the high risk involved, many have lost their lives, properties, and other valuables as many Nigerians opted into the harmful practice of saving costs at the expense of their lives.
To so many, it’s smart to save money by using substandard electricity cables and appliances in houses, shopping complexes, markets, industries, or any building for commercial and personal purposes.
Safety tools like fire extinguishers or smoke detectors are rarely found in the places mentioned earlier; some never even have a close encounter with their use or try purchasing them for safety and self-protection but are always crying and blaming governments for their responsibility.
However, it is sad to note that many commuters allowed some members of their community to stone or threaten the men or personnel of the fire services while they approached a fire incident scene to perform their duty.
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