A total of 30 people died in 716 fire incidents recorded in Kaduna State in 2021, the Director of the State Fire Service, Paul Aboi, has said.
Mr Aboi who said on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna, said the outbreaks were recorded in Kaduna, Zaria and Kafanchan.
He said the fire outbreaks were caused mainly by carelessness in the use of electrical appliances and ignorance about the handling of naked fires.
Mr Aboi said January recorded the highest number of incidence with 112 outbreaks, while 94 cases were recorded in March, 91 cases in December and 76 in April during the year under review.
“The high rate of the fire outbreak is usually recorded from December till April because the period is the core dry season,” he said.
He said in the course of responding to fire distress calls, the office rescued 44 persons, 110 injured while 30 persons died.
Mr Aboi said the service was doing its best to bring fire disasters in the state to the barest minimum.
“We believe that the advocacy being embarked upon by the state government will help correct the anomaly and ultimately reduce fire incidents to the barest minimum,” he said.
He also said the state lost more than N3.7 billion to the fire outbreaks while properties worth N139 billion were saved.
“When there is fire, we want the people to call us in good time and motorists should give way for our fire engines to get to those emergencies in good time,” he said.
The director said there was a need for residents to switch off all electrical appliances when not in use and to keep flammable materials away from their homes.
(NAN)
