The Federal Fire Service in Abia has announced plans to train individuals and corporate entities on basic firefighting techniques to stem the increasing tide of fire incidences.
The State Controller, Abia Command, Mrs Juliet Onyendi disclosed this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia on Thursday.
Onyendi said the training became important to reduce the rate at which small fires grow into infernos due to ignorance of what should be done by residents.
“We have discovered that most people don’t even know how to handle fire extinguishers or use fire blankets when they see fire outbreaks in their houses.
“So with this training on how to handle fires at the incipient stage, it will go a long way in educating and training residents on what to do or not to do when there is a fire outbreak.
“We know that with these trainings, participants will share their training experiences with others and our society will be safer for it,” she said.
Onyendi said ignorance of the right actions to take when fire breaks out is part of the reasons some fires increased in intensity, destroying lives and property.
She said the service would begin the training with personnel of federal agencies and extend it to other organisations and citizens.
The controller said that the training would begin after the Easter break which is the fourth week of April.
NAN reports that the Federal Fire Service has the statutory responsibility for rescue and fire prevention, mitigation, fire fighting as well as paramedical and information services.