Adejoke Adebiyi
No fewer than 42 persons died while N14.6b properties got burnt in Lagos State fire incidents between January and June .
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service disclosed this on Tuesday.
The service however, said 77 persons were rescued .
The Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Adeseye Margaret Abimbola shared these distressing statistics in the mid-year activity report released by the Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the Fire Service, Agboola Ololade
The report highlighted a total of 1,462 emergencies recorded between January and June 2023. Distress calls encompassed various incidents, including 924 fire-related cases, 92 rescues, 41 salvage operations, 3 explosions, 2 building collapses, and 400 false calls.
Adeseye emphasized that fire incidents had indiscriminately increased compared to the same period the previous year and investigations revealed that most of these disasters were caused by carelessness and negligence.
The Fire Service Director also noted a rise in false calls due to a change in the response strategy without proper verification and Factors such as climate change and the widespread use of domestic gas as an alternative fuel were identified as contributors to the surge in fire outbreaks.
Adeseye assured the people of Lagos State that the Fire Service possesses the necessary resources and capabilities to mitigate fire outbreaks effectively.
She urged the residents to avoid habits that could place unnecessary pressure on the Fire Service and emphasized the importance of safety consciousness, particularly regarding the use of gas as an alternative fuel source, which has become increasingly prevalent.
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