A Fire Officer with the Federal Fire Service, Ondo State Command, Ajulo Ayodele John has attributed the major cause of fire outbreaks to carelessness.
Ajulo, who is an Assistant Superintendent of Fire disclosed this during the Fire Safety and Prevention lecture he delivered to the 2021 Batch ‘C’ (Stream 1) corps members.
He announced that statistics showed that the highest number of fire outbreaks is caused by carelessness, which he predicated as displaying a lackadaisical attitude and non-sensitivity.
“You will be surprised if I should say the fire is your friend which in the real sense I am saying nothing but the truth. As a human being, you will not want to do anything that will want to hurt your friend likewise, acting at variance with fire safety measures or precautions will lead to unpleasant contraction”.
The Fire Officer who arrested and controlled the attention of the members of the service corps while the lecture lasted, listed some form of carelessness to include but not limited to overloading of electrical appliances, storing of combustible materials, refueling generator while it is working, and not switching off the engine when refueling at the gas station.
“Gentlemen corps members, I am constrained to let you know that fire outbreaks claim more lives after road traffic accidents because of the rate at which it escalates if not properly and professionally managed”.
“Many lives that ordinarily would have been saved were sent to their untimely grave at unripe age because the majority of us have refused or intentionally do not want to do what is expected of us. It is unfortunate that we encourage non-certified professionals in our neighborhood to mount electrical poles and tamper with connections, and this leads to so many people being electrocuted and this, unfortunately, sends such people to their early grave” he said.
Other causes of fire outbreaks according to the team leader of officers and firemen on camp are wilful acts and also through unforeseen circumstances.
“You may be wondering about what is called wilful act. This is an intentional act of setting ablaze some other people’s properties such as houses, farmlands and other treasured valuables and this occurs when love is lost between two parties.”
ASF Ajulo warned the corps members to desist from going to bed without removing their phones, laptops, and other electrical appliances from the power source.
“We have been saying it and we shall continue to educate the youths on the best way to safeguard their lives from any fire incidents. Many will not unplug their phones and still place them by their sides when sleeping and whenever there is a power surge, the phone or laptop they placed on their bed is a conductor that can cause regrettable but avoidable accidents in the house”.
The corps members who were engrossed in the practical demonstration of how to tackle fire incidences when it occurs agreed that they have been ignorant about the destructive nature of fire outbreaks caused by carelessness.
The lecture which attracted camp officials, as well as camp market operators, was described as an eye-opener that will protect them from the untold hardships such carelessness may bring.
The entire camp community lauded the initiative of the management for infusing the lecture as part of orientation course content and commended the Fire and Safety Officers for availing them with useful information and tips on how to handle domestic and industrial fire incidents.
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