Controller General of the Federal Fire Service (FFS), Liman Alhaji Ibrahim, has disclosed the Federal Government’s effort in curbing fire disasters in the country being the approval of the purchase of 93 fire-fighting trucks and establishment of five training schools which would aid the training and retraining of more fire fighters in the country. This represents the largest government effort towards the fire service for over a hundred years followed by a distant 25 truck inclusion to the garage in 2017, before which the last car upgrade was in 1901.
Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, Ibrahim stated that this development became necessary following the recent wave of tanker explosions in the country.
He disclosed the creation of six additional zones to improve the swift response and efficiency of the service. Stating the challenges, saying
“before the advent of his administration, most of the few trucks we had were largely unserviceable…”
A mini documentary by Deji Badamosi captured a Fire Service with non-functional vehicles even at the headquarter in Lagos, control rooms had dead communications equipment from the 70s and waiting rooms were inhabitable.
Prior to this move, Mr. Ibrahim disclosed that the fire service had presence only in Abuja, Lagos and the six geo-political zones. The service has now expanded its operational activities by creating six additional zonal headquarters. The creation of more zones will enhance the efficiency of the fire service, deliver fire service to Nigerians, improve emergency response time and also compliment the efforts of the State Fire Services, he promises.
He acknowledged the receiving and commissioning of 12 modern trucks set to be deployed in the newly created zones, while mentioning that Sokoto and Niger states have taken delivery so far. There has also been renovation of the Nyanya fire station in Abuja which also covers the suburbs of Nasarawa state. The five fire training schools are set to commence training soon with locations in Maiduguri, Calabar, Illorin, Katsina and Umuahia. These centers would also provide training to State Fire Services and other fire services within and outside the country.
The Geo- political zones of the Federal Fire Services and States covered are as follows:
- Zone A; Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau with Headquarters in Makurdi.
- Zone B; Katsina, Jigawa and Kaduna with Headquarters in Kano.
- Zone C; Bauchi, Yobe, and Borno with Headquarters in Bauchi.
- Zone D; Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra with Headquarters in Enugu.
- Zone E; Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and Cross River with Headquarters in Uyo.
- Zone F; Lagos, Ogun and Oyo with Headquarters in Lagos.
The added zones are;
- Zone G; Niger, Kogi and Kwara with Headquarters in Minna.
- Zone H; Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi with headquarters in Sokoto.
- Zone I; Adamawa, Taraba and Gombe with Headquarters in Yola.
- Zone J; Owerri and Abia with Headquarters in Owerri.
- Zone K; Delta, Edo and Bayelsa, with Headquarters in Asaba.
- Zone L; Osun, Ondo and Ekiti with Headquarters in Osogbo.
In 2017, 1.7 billion Naira was budgeted for the Nigerian Fire Service. Of that amount 1 billion went for salaries and entitlements while 700 million went for training and other related purposes. In comparison, the budget for the New York Fire Department is 2 trillion dollars.
