Fire Service moves for safety of buildings

The Federal Fire Service has given a three-month ultimatum to defaulters of its building fi re risk assessment to comply or face sanction. The Head, Policy Regulation and Inspectorate, Assistant ControllerGeneral Quintus Azogu, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recently. Azogu said buildings that had been discovered to have gaps had been given three months to effect correction, adding that non-compliance would attract enforcement.
He said the National Fire Safety Code “prescribes sanctions running up to one-year imprisonment, N 500,000 or even both depending on the magnitude of the infractions.” Azogu said the agency had sent out officers to check the fi re safety status of buildings in the FCT. “We go to buildings to check their fi re safety status in terms of pathways for fi re evacuation, what they have for fi re suppression and what they have in terms of alarm system,” he said.
He also said because all buildings were not the same, those in residential buildings were advised to carry out fi re safety precautions. Azogu advised residents of small apartments to always switch off all electrical appliances when leaving the house. He also urged them to make sure there were means of suppressing fi re when there was an outbreak.
The spokesman said residents of public buildings must install gadgets that would warn them during fi re outbreaks and inscriptions to guide them to escape during an emergency.
According to him, it is necessary for the service to have building designs before construction, vet them and give approval for construction. “We ensure building materials will not promote or enhance the spread of fi re if there is a fi re outbreak. That is why we do certification for structures right from the design stage through construction till when it is put to use.” He urged Nigerians to purchase the National Fire Safety Code from various fi re service stations in the country