Nigeria Lost 136 Lives, N3trn Property To Fire In 2021– FG

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola has said about 136 lives and N3trn worth of property were lost to various fire outbreaks across the country in 2021.

He added that the Federal Fire Service during the period saved about N18.9tn worth of property, adding that over 587 lives were rescued from fire incidents last year.

He made these known during the decoration of newly promoted Deputy Controllers General of the Service in Abuja on Thursday.

The Minister also noted that the service responded to 2,845 distress-calls during the period.

He said, “Last year, the FSS responded to 2,845 SOS distress-calls in which 136 lives and property worth N3trn were lost.

“But the FSS was able to save 587 lives, rescued 260 persons, and saved property worth N18.9trn.

“In sum, the stock of the FSS has grown in leaps and bounds as the agency has contributed significantly to national security – in the protection of lives and property.”

The minister pointed out that between 2015 and now, the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari, has committed more resources into the Fire Service than since its creation in 1901.

He added, “The attention and resources devoted by the Buhari administration since 2015 are more than whatever has been put into it since its establishment in 1901. Between 2015 and 2020, the Federal Government provided 106 modern firefighting trucks to the FSS.

“Last year, the Federal Executive Council also approved (and have since been procured and deployed) N10.4bn infrastructure upgrade comprising of 44 firefighting engines, 15 water tankers, 15 rapid intervention fire engines (not conventional ones) that can go into the nooks and crannies to respond to distress-calls and 20 basic life support ambulances.

“Also, 17 firefighting officers were sent to Belarus for an advanced trainer-training course. These officers are the master trainers that will be training other officers on modern firefighting, disaster, and emergency management.”