By Daniel Tyokua
The Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, Felix Obuah on Thursday, said the FCT Administration has introduced Fire router technology to prevent and alert Fire Services of outbreak case in Abuja markets.
Obuah disclosed this during the 2024/2025 FCT Fire Service market sensitization campaign at the Wuse Market.
He explained that the Fire Router technology, only installed so far at the Wuse market, would be installed in other markets across the territory.
The coordinator encouraged traders to ensure that they install fire extinguishers in their shops, to help prevent fires before the arrival of trained Firefighters, adding that while the installation of the device was a social service of the administration, the traders would be required to pay an amount.
“There is a new technology, this is first of its kind. You do not need to call; you do not even need to be there. Once you close your shop, and that device is in your shop, if there is any outbreak of fire, it will alert the fire services, and immediately, whether you are there or not, they (Fire Service) will move. That is a new system we have just introduced. You saw us exhibit it right away. As I pressed the SOS button, the office is already alerted, and they were already on their way. This is an invention that is second to none. Nowhere has it been installed, this is the first time we are doing it, and it is being installed in Wuse market”.
“And that is why we have said apart from this, all shops should also try as much as possible to install fire extinguishers, so that in case anything happens, they are the first fire fighters that will take off before the Fire Service will come. It will be provided for all shops and all the markets. It is a show of social services we have done. If they have to pay, it is just a little coin”, he said.
On his part, the Comptroller of the FCT Fire Service, Zaccheaus Adebayo, emphasised the importance of fire preventive measures, noting the commitment of the Service to preventing fires across the Territory.
“As firefighters, we witness the aftermath of these tragedies; traders losing their goods and investments, families and communities facing emotional and economic hardship; lives sometimes being irreparably altered.
“This is why we cannot overemphasize the importance of preventive measures, and why this sensitization campaign has become an integral part of our operations”, he said.
Acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Abuja Markets Management Limited, Onya Ojiji, said his team would begin the enforcement of proper storage or outright removal of fire-inducing materials in the markets, as well as review of shop operators and security guards’ knowledge of fire safety matters in the market, adding that the sensitization program was part of efforts to achieve these objectives.
