By Anayo Okoli, Vincent Ujumadu, Steve Oko, Dennis Agbo, Ugochukwu Alaribe, Chinonso Alozie & Chimaobi Nwaiwu

THE harmattan season is here again, when fire outbreaks are rampant. Fire disaster comes unannounced; therefore adequate preparations should be made at all times. 

Already, there are reports of infernos in some parts of the country, in homes and markets, destroying goods and properties worth several millions of naira.

Prompted by this, SEV decided to find out how prepared the fire service departments in the South-East states are to tackle such unfortunate development, if it happens.

Abia has 4 functional fire-fighting trucks, 65 firemen, always battle-ready —Arua

Abia State has only four functional fire-fighting trucks, SEV inquiries revealed. Two of the trucks are stationed in Aba, the other two are in Umuahia.  One of the trucks was recently donated to the state by the Chief Executive of Innoson Motors, Chief Innocent Chukwuma.

Abia State Fire Service boss, Mr. Nnanna Arua who confirmed this to SEV, said that there are about 65 personnel in the Service.  He, however, said that more personnel were being expected to be recruited in 2025.

The state Fire Service boss also said there were plans for each senatorial zone to have two fire-fighting trucks; while each local government will have one.

Arua said his men are always ready for any fire incident. According to him, they have a rapid response unit for the major markets in the state, adding that the governor appointed a special assistant to closely monitor their activities. ”We table our needs directly before the governor through the SA,” he said.

He said that part of the expectations in the 2025 budget is that more fire-fighting trucks would be procured.  According to him, a good fire-fighting truck that can contain about 25,000 gallons of water costs between N600 and N700 million.

Arua commended Governor Alex Otti for providing them with personal protective equipment to improve their protection in the line of duty.

Govt yet to enforce provision of fire extinguishers in all buildings

However, SEV investigations revealed that the government had yet to enforce its policy of installing fire extinguishers in all buildings in the state.  Governor Alex Otti had during his assessment visit to a fire incident at Chisco Motors, Milverton Avenue, Aba, in March 2024, ordered the installation of fire extinguishers in all buildings and warned that the directive would be strictly enforced. He also stated that business centers must have fire extinguishers installed on their premises.

However, when SEV  monitored the situation, it was discovered that the governor’s directive was yet to be complied with by some business owners.  SEV also observed that there has been no task force or agency to enforce the order.

However, it could not be confirmed whether the governor had fulfilled his promise made at Chisco Motors to procure additional fire trucks to complement the ones at the Aba Service Station.

We’re taming harmattan fire in Anambra —Chiketa

Anambra State currently boasts of functional fire service stations in the major cities of the state. The firemen are also motivated to do their jobs, which is why they now respond to emergencies promptly.

It is therefore not surprising when the Anambra State Fire Service recently assured that the organisation is fully prepared to counter any incident of fire outbreak in any part of the state. They said that the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo has equipped the service adequately to tackle fire incidents. Already, the state legislature has passed a bill to ensure that every market installs overhead tanks with water boreholes and industrial fire extinguishers.

At a recent safety awareness and fire prevention campaign in Onitsha, a Director of the State Fire Service, Emma Chiketa, however, attributed frequent fire outbreaks to carelessness and ignorance.

“There should be adequate enlightenment of traders and market leaders on fire preventive measures. Everybody should be fire-conscious and practice safety measures anywhere they are, whether in the home, shop, market, or office. People should not just believe that God is in control. People should ensure that they have fire extinguishers in their cars, homes, offices, or shops. Do not hoard fuel in the markets or shops and do not plug several gadgets or appliances in one socket,” Chiketa advised.

A businessman, Chief Akai Egwuonwu, urged the people to be cautious and guard against fire outbreaks as harmattan season sets in to avoid the destruction of lives and property. “Preventing fire outbreaks and its destructive menace is everybody’s business. Let us join hands in the fight to reduce all forms of disasters, especially the ones involving human negligence and mistakes,” he said.

Another Onitsha businessman, Chief Onyekachi Onwuzurike cautioned traders to be careful to avoid fire incidents, especially during harmattan season. He expressed dissatisfaction with the state of the fire service in the state.

We are proactive to fire outbreak, battle-ready —Ebonyi fire service

The Ebonyi State Chief Fire Officer, Johnson Ibiam said the State Government is transforming the service. He said the State fire officials and their Federal counterparts have been collaborating in fighting fire incidents in the state.  He said that the State government  provided a fire service station at the International Market when it was  commissioned. Ibiam also said that the government provided the state of art firefighting equipment and has been training the firemen on the best way to approach fire outbreaks.

“We have been very proactive in fire fighting. Our firemen are always on standby in case of any fire incident, especially in this harmattan season. We have been organizing sensitization programmes on how to prevent fire in houses and markets, and what should be done in the event of any fire outbreak. 

“We always warn the general public against bush burning in this harmattan season because the wind that accompanies the  haze could force the fire to spread to residential houses and other buildings in the neighborhood.”

We also advised them to use quality wires and electrical appliances and always switch off all the appliances when not at home because of possible power surges”, Ibiam said.

A trader at the international market Onyeka Obi confirmed that there is a fire fighting station at the market but said that three years ago there was a fire incident at the market where a warehouse was burnt. 

“We are afraid of fire outbreaks in the market, especially this harmattan period. My happiness is that there is a fire fighting substation in the market now. In the past, we had a fire outbreak which they stopped and prevented the fire from spreading.  I appeal to the state government to give the firemen more incentives to encourage them to be more dedicated to the job”.

A resident of Abakaliki, Mrs. Dorothy Oko expressed satisfaction with the swift  intervention of fire officials in the state.  “I must commend our firemen they are doing a good job to fight fire whenever there is a fire outbreak in this area. They don’t waste time on any emergency call. They should be encouraged by paying them well and also pay them hazard allowance because their job is very risky”, Oko stated.

We are prepared for the harmattan season —Enugu Fire Chief

The Chief Fire Officer in the Enugu State, Engr. Okwudiri Ohaa said his agency is always well prepared to tackle any emergency fire outbreak in any part of the state.

He said they have fire fighting facilities in other parts of the state such as Nsukka, Oji River, Ozalla, Orba, Enugu-Ezike, and Udi, which cover the rural and semi-urban areas of the state.

“We have a proposal to open more stations and the Governor, Peter Mbah administration is supporting us more than we even expected. Most of the things we requested are given to us. Now that we are in dry season we requested a chemical compound which is the chemical used with water to form bubbles and they are given to us. We, however like Oliver Twist need some more to scale up our manpower in 2025. So we are prepared for the season”.

We are combatant ready for any fire outbreak —Imo Fire Service

The Director of Fire Service in Imo state, Japhate Okereafor, said the state fire service is always combatant ready to tackle any fire outbreak in the state.

“The fire service is very ready; we are combatant ready. We have been able to put in place some of the machinery we have to perform and work effectively in tackling fire incidents.

“The governor of the state did a nice work by equipping the fire service so that we are able to stand the frame of time within this period of harmattan. This is the little I can say for now but the details will be communicated to you later”, Okereafor said.

However, some residents have advised the state fire service to distribute their phone contacts to enable residents to communicate easily and directly with the station in the event of any fire incident in the state.