By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has begun plans to improve FCT Fire service delivery and revenue generation.
Director, FCT Fire Service, Julius Opetunsin during a retreat it organized for the management staff in Karu, said the agency is concerned with training the staff to give out the best.
He said the service mandate was fire prevention and fighting, but the department was also considering how best to offer the services, which he said training and retraining remain the key.
Opetunsin who acknowledged that fire outbreak was almost impossible to stop, said the agency is determined to refocuse the efforts of Service on fire prevention and enforcement, instead of fire fighting, saying: “Once people know what to do to prevent fire outbreak, there will be reduction in the number of incidences.
He disclosed that: “Between January and March, 2020, FCT Fire Service responded to about 180 fire cases, but it has reduced drastically, so up to August ending, we responded to about 356 fire cases, without any casualty largely due to our prompt response.”
The director commended the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello for his continued support to the Service.
He said the Federal Executive Council recently approved the purchase of four water tankers and four water tenders, adding that they have already received part of it, while they were expecting the rest by the end of September.
On the use of fire extinguisher, Opetunsin said: “Fire extinguisher is not difficult to use. It is a different thing to have fire extinguisher and it is another thing to know how to ise it.
“Before using it, you have to remove the safety pins, because if it is not removed, you will not be able to press the lever, after which you will push either the powder or carbon dioxide out of the cylinder, while directing the nozzle to the seat of the fire, you don’t fight the fire at the surface.
“Note that you only use fire extinguisher at the initial stage of fire outbreak when the fire is small; you don’t use it when the fire is getting out of control. At that point, you call the fire service because there is limit to what an individual can do. That’s is why it is necessary for you to have out control room numbers, which are 092906118 or 112, they will then contact the nearest station.”
