Gov Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has urged participants at the Lagos International Fire Safety Conference to be committed to fire prevention advocacy to keep a safe and secure environment.
The governor made the appeal at the opening of the conference held at the Federal Palace Hotel on Victoria Island.
The conference had the theme: “Stakeholders Collaboration: A Panacea to Incessant Fire Disasters in Lagos”.
Sanwo-Olu also urged the participants to collaborate with the state government to educate residents on fire disaster prevention.The governor said that the government would continue to promote safety culture through robust policies, strategic investments and community engagement.
“We want a Lagos that fire outbreak is significantly reduced. We can reduce it if we work collaboratively, if we see ourselves as our brothers’ keepers.
“Fire disaster knows no boundaries. If you are careful, the other person may not be careful. We need to educate everyone around us.Our government cannot do this alone and we still have a lot more to do. Community involvement is very vital,” Sanwo-Olu said.
He called on education, religious and traditional institutions to enlighten their followers about safety measures especially during dry season and harmattan.” Religious organisations, educational institutions, traditional institutions all have pivotal roles in knowledge sharing.
” Stop storing petrol in your shops. Don’t refill generator tanks when it is on. It will not only affect you. Everyone within that parameter has been endangered by you.” We need more advocacy; we need to sanitise residents of the state. These fire incidents are avoidable,” he said.
The state Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-governmental Relations, Mr Olugbenga Oyerinde, said that the state government had been proactive in its response to fire incidents by providing fire equipment.
” We pride ourselves as the best in emergency management, our governor has been proactive, and our equipment is world-class,” he said.
The Controller-General of the Federal Fire Service, Mr Ibrahim Liman, said that the Federal Government was committed to collaborating with states to save lives and property through fire prevention.
He urged Lagos State to continue embracing advanced and cutting-edge fire prevention and control solutions.
The Chief Executive Officer of Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Mrs Margaret Adeseye, emphasized the need for public-private partnerships in preventing fire incidents.She applauded the governor for building more fire service centres across the state.
