How To Handle Fire Emergencies During Harmattan, Experts Say

By Mohammed Abubakar, Dutse

As the harmattan season sets in Jigawa state government has been tasked to embark on massive training for workers at both state and local government on fire prevention and use of fire extinguishers in the government offices to lives and properties in state.

The Director-General Manpower Development Institute (MDI) Malam Umar Faruk Wada, threw the challenge during a one-day training workshop for the institute’s workers on fire prevention and use of fire extinguishers.

He attributed the lack of knowledge and skills on fire prevention and use of fire extinguishers as among the factors responsible for the government and individuals losing a lot to fire accidents more especially in schools, hospitals, ministries and paratatals buildings”.

Wada added that “many a times you can see fire extinguisher in almost all government facilities but when fire breaks, a lot of lives and property are lost as a result of in adequate or complete lack of knowledge and skills on how to operate the fire extinguishers, a development that had worsened situation.”

Wada said the training was therefore, organized to make the institute’s staff to be conversant with the use of fire extinguishers during emergencies.

He urged the participants to make the best use of the knowledge they acquired in the training in the practical aspect of their daily routine duties.

Presenting a paper during the training, the Managing Director Fire Consultancy Engineer Kano, Alhaji Idi Bukar lamented that most government and private buildings have fire extinguishers for years, without training on how to use them in case of fire incidents.

The consultant advocated joint training workshops for local government staff on fire prevention techniques in the rural areas.

He said the participants of the training should consist of Head of community Departments their Deputies and other senior staff who would, in turn, conduct step down trainings for others.

Bukar explained that fire prevention training for local government staff would help reduce the outbreak of fire disasters that in most cases destroy houses, loss of lives and farm produce as well as domestic animals especially during harmattan period.