The Lagos State Government has undertaken a comprehensive awareness initiative targeting market vendors in Balogun Market and other markets within the Lagos metropolis.
In a joint statement from the Director General of the Lagos State Safety Commission and Lagos Fire and Rescue Services, a crucial sensitization campaign was launched at Balogun Market in Lagos, specifically focusing on preventing fire outbreaks, especially with the approaching yuletide season.
During the event, Mr. Lanre Mojola, the Director General of the Lagos State Safety Commission, provided essential guidance to market traders.
He imparted knowledge on implementing safety measures to forestall fire incidents, emphasizing practices such as the removal of combustible materials like paper, rubber, and wood.
Additionally, he highlighted precautions such as attending to electrical iron and kettle, ensuring the proper storage of flammable materials within households, refraining from refueling generators while hot, avoiding electrical circuit overloading, and refraining from using camp gas or cylinders indoors, among other preventive measures.
Mojola, noted that in case the market men and women discover or suspect any fire incidence, they should raise alarm, leave the building to the nearest available exit and call Lagos State Emergency toll free lines on 767 or 112 among others..
According to him, “There is need for all our market men and women to be fire safety conscious because fire is not friendly to anyone and this is essence of sensitizing our market men and women not to risk their lives and avoid anything that could cause fire outbreaks in the state.
He advised the general public to take precautionary measures, prevent fire outbreaks during the forthcoming yuletide season.
In the same vein, the Director, Lagos Fire and Rescue Services, Mrs Adeseye Margaret Abimbola also corroborated what DG, Safety Commission has Mojola said, that Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, don’t want any of them to die but be living in healthy and good conditions.
The Director, Lagos Fire and Rescue Services, who was represented by Mrs Ololade Alelamole , advised the market men and women to always prevent fire at their markets by not overloading electrical sockets and desist from storage of petrol in their markets and as a matter of importance avoid anything that could cause electrical spark in their markets.
She hinted that the sensitisation would take them to almost 20 markets across the state, adding that fire safety is everyone’s responsibility..
The Fire officials also displayed practicals on fire prevention and elementary fire fighting.
The Director said that the tips to the market men and women were imperative to prevent fire disasters and to imbibe safety consciousness during the forthcoming yuletide season in markets and other places of public interest.
She said, “We are here to converse for the economic development of the State, we don’t want incessant fire outbreaks in our markets any more and we know that all these incessant fire outbreaks are as a result of peoples negligence and carelessness.
“Our people should be careful in handling fire because any mishandling can lead to disaster, all electrical appliances should be put off before locking up the shops for the day.”
She also called for cooperation among the market operators and fire service to achieve a zero fire outbreak incident in Lagos State.
