By Sunmola Olowookere

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The news broke around 8. p.m on Thursday, September 10, 2020. A part of the office of Independent National Electoral Commission, at Alagbaka, Akure, the Ondo state capital caught fire.
The container housing the smart card readers expected to be used for the October 10 Governorship election in the state was seriously damaged by the fire.
The fire was suspected to have been caused by an electric spark within the container and over 5000 card readers were consumed by the inferno.
Series of reactions have trailed the unfortunate incident. While, the Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has commiserated with the commission over the fire incident, and extended offer of support towards them, opposition groups had insinuated that there were sinister plots behind the fire outbreak.
The governor, on his own had described the unfortunate occurrence as disheartening and unwholesome as it came a month to the Ondo State Gubernatorial election.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Rufus Akeju had however assured that the development was not so severe as to warrant a postponement of the October 10, 2020 gubernatorial election in the state.
In the same vein, he regretted that nothing out of the centre could be salvaged as all the equipment in the 40 feet Containers were razed by fire.
It is noteworthy that the Fire Service could not save the day despite its proximity to the INEC office.
The state was indeed lucky that the fire outbreak was not fatal as no one was trapped inside the inferno.
There is an urgent need for the Federal government to revamp the sector. Fire outbreaks are occurring more often than is healthy in some parts of the country while the Federal fire service in those areas are unable to tackle them.
In most of the fire outbreaks even in Akure, the damage were ussually much due to inability of the fire service to put it out. The agency ussually come up with one story or the other as reasons for its inefficiency.
It would be recalled that about three months ago, there was a fire outbreak also in the Akure metropolis around Obanla axis.
Precisely, on June 14, a late-night inferno destroyed property worth millions of naira as it engulfed 13 shops and two houses, a few meters from the popular Oja-Oba market.
The fire was suspected to have been caused by gas leaks as sources said that the inferno started from one of the shops where gas cylinders were stored.
According to some eyewitnesses, the situation could have also been salvaged if the men of the State’s Fire Service had arrived at the scene on time.
They argued that by the time the firemen arrived at the scene the buildings had turned to debris following hours of intense fire.
One of the shop owners who simply gave his name as Favour said he could not believe his eyes as he watched his business burn to the ground.
In this case also, we were lucky that no life was lost. It occurred during the lockdown when all were made to stay home.
In another development, sometimes in 2018, over 100 lock-up shops located beside the Deji of Akure’s palace were razed to ashes, partly destroying the National Museum established in 1987.
The incident occurred at about 1:00a.m. in one of the shops along the popular Oba Adesida Market, which also destroyed the rate office of Akure South Local Government Area.
There were numerous generating sets, computers, accessories, provisions among other items that were burnt beyond recognition, while the victims stood wailing as they watched their valuables smoldering in ashes.
It was gathered that the inferno grew wild after distress calls made to the Fire Service yielded no response, as the personnel complained they had no water or fuel and their van was not in good condition.
However, those affected in Lagos most horrific fire outbreak were not so lucky.
In June, 2018, a tanker exploded during rush hour traffic, setting cars ablaze and killing at least nine people and injuring at least five.
The tanker crashed into a passenger car and caught fire on a busy bridge about 5 p.m. on the Lagos Ibadan Expressway, a route used by commuters living on the outskirts of the city.
54 vehicles were burned as response teams were trying to rescue people trapped in the fires.
Lagos is undoubtedly the epicenter of fire outbreak in Nigeria. The state is confronted by issues of fire outbreaks on constant basis.
The Fire Service admitted that it recorded over 119 fire incidents across Lagos State from the beginning of January 2019 till date.
The Lagos State Fire Service while raising the alarm had attributed it to high level of unconsciousness in the handling of fire and other flammable materials.
The Acting Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Rasaki Musibau lamented that valuables worth millions and preventable lives were being lost daily to avoidable fire outbreaks and recalled that the directorate received nothing less than 17 fire emergencies weekly, which he said called for concern.
“Fire outbreaks in the State have become a perennial problem, with many reported cases which in no doubt pose serious threat to national economy and further leaves enormous material damage, injury to persons and disruption of economic and social life.
“Some of the fire cases are mostly caused by negligence on the part of those who use it, hence the need to prioritise the management and prevention of fire in our environment in order to avoid destruction of lives and properties” Rasaki said.
According to the statute by which it was created, the Federal Fire Service has the statutory responsibility for rescue fire prevention, mitigation, fire fighting as well as paramedical and information services.
The Federal Government reform of the Fire Services in the country in 2007 redefined the mandate of the Service as Regulation of the State and Private Fire Services, Prescription and monitoring of standards for the promotion of fire education, fire prevention, safety, mitigation and investigation.
The agency was also to ensure effective discharge of the functions of the State Fire Services, Provision of policy direction for the Nation’s Fire Services, ensuring the standardization of fire and rescue equipment manufactured or imported into Nigeria.
The 2007 reform also encompasses the establishment by the State Fire Services of adequate number of fire stations and fire posts, establishing the National Fire Academy to meet the training requirements of fire fighters in the country and beyond and Coordination of national emergencies.
The federal government had lofty expectations following the reform of 2007. However, it’s service still leaves much to be desired.
The federal and state governments must collaborate to ensure that the fire service is effective and functional so as to be able to fight fire outbreaks. Fire outbreak is part of natural disasters that leaves huge losses in its wake.
If the agency is made to function properly, it would mitigate the impact and guide against such losses as we have experienced in recent times.