The Federal Fire Service (FFS) has appealed to wealthy Nigerians, philanthropists and corporate organisations to fund the construction of fire stations.
The FFS warned that inadequate fire stations is slowing emergency response and putting lives and property at risk.
Controller-General of the Federal Fire Service, Olumode Samuel Adeyemi, made the appeal at a National Stakeholders’ Summit on Fire Safety on Friday in Abuja.
He said Nigeria needed a wider network of strategically located fire stations to improve response times as cities expand and fire risks increase.
Adeyemi urged individuals and organisations with the resources to support fire safety projects to emulate community-funded stations such as the Offa Descendant Association Fire Station, Oyo Town Fire Station, Idanre Fire Station, Bonny Island Fire Station and Kugbo Fire Station.
“Establishing or supporting a fire station is not merely philanthropy; it is an investment in lives, property and the safety of our communities,” Adeyemi said.
He said rapid urbanisation, industrial growth and increasingly complex infrastructure had created new fire safety challenges, requiring greater investment in prevention and emergency response.
According to him, fire safety should extend beyond responding to incidents to include prevention, early detection, recovery and lessons from previous emergencies.
“Every fire we prevent is a potential life saved. Every community we educate becomes safer. Every partnership we build increases our collective capacity,” he said.
The Controller-General said the Service had rehabilitated 40 firefighting appliances over the past year and acquired two additional modern firefighting vehicles.
He also said more than 2,000 sets of personal protective equipment had been supplied to firefighters, while over 700 cadet officers had completed basic firefighting training and been deployed across commands.
According to Adeyemi, the Service has also expanded specialised training, including counter-terrorism programmes conducted with the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Armed Forces.
He said the Federal Fire Service was working with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to improve fire safety and compliance in tertiary institutions.
Adeyemi also disclosed that the FFS had partnered with the Tony Elumelu Foundation to provide fire safety preparedness training for 7,740 Nigerians, with a target of reaching 10 people in each local government area.
Speaking at the summit, guest speaker Dr Omoniyi Ebietan urged the Fire Service to treat communication as part of emergency management rather than as an afterthought.
He said communication should be integrated into policy and operational planning from the beginning to improve public understanding during emergencies.
“The foundation for success of whatever you want to do is communication,” he said.
Ebietan also warned that weak internal communication could damage public confidence if staff provided inaccurate or conflicting information.
He encouraged the FFS to make greater use of its website, social media platforms and traditional media to ensure accurate information reaches the public, particularly during emergencies when misinformation can spread quickly.
Adeyemi also urged Nigerians to support emergency responders by keeping access routes clear for fire trucks, avoiding crowds at fire scenes, providing useful information and sharing only verified information during incidents.
(The Whistler)