How Fire Outbreaks Has Cost Nigerians Over ₦3.19 Trillion in Eight Years
The recent fire incidents at the Canadian High Commission in Abuja and the Samsung Office in Wuse, Nigeria, have raised concerns about the losses suffered by Nigerians due to fire outbreaks.
On Monday, November 6, 2023, Canada’s embassy in the nation’s capital territory caught fire, resulting in the reported loss of two lives. Additionally, during the late hours of Monday, a fire engulfed a Samsung Showroom near Banex Plaza in Abuja, destroying electronics worth millions.
Ibrahim Tauheed, FCT Fire spokesman, explained that the fire incident at the Samsung Showroom was the result of careless welding activities near a pile of empty and combustible cartons.
Obike Promise, a certified safety professional with OSHAssociation UK, told Neusroom that ignorance and negligence are the primary causes of fire incidents.
“Most people do not adhere to basic safety measures, while some are not aware of them,” he said.
He identified electrical fires as one of the major causes of fire incidents.
In September 2023, a fire incident occurred at the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Abuja, reported as the result of an electrical fire.
These fire incidents are among several others that have occurred throughout the country since January 2023.
According to the Global Shelter Cluster, between January and April 2023, 79 fire incidents were recorded across 46 overcrowded IDP camps, leaving 7,091 households (35,750 individuals) without basic humanitarian needs in Borno State. While nine fatalities were reported during these incidents, fires in some of Nigeria’s marketplaces have left many Nigerians despondent.
In March, an inferno engulfed the Onitsha Main Market in Anambra State, South East Nigeria, destroying goods worth millions of naira. The Onitsha Main Market is one of Nigeria’s largest markets. In July, goods worth over ₦3 billion were destroyed when more than 30 shops at Powerline leather products in Aba, Abia State’s commercial hub were razed down by fire.
In Lagos, Nigeria’s economic powerhouse, fire incidents are frequent. On October 31, 2023, a fire incident was recorded at Ladipo Pako market on Iganmu road, Orile, just a few weeks after cases were recorded at Victory Bay, Ajao Estate in Isolo, and Ilepeju area of Lagos State.
Between 2015 and 2022, Nigerians have lost over ₦3.19 trillion due to fire incidents. In 2022 alone, fire outbreaks cost the country ₦46.1 billion, representing an increase of 1,413 percent in a 12-month period where fire cost citizens ₦3.05 billion in 2021.
While experts advocate that the Nigerian Fire Service should be better equipped and funded to respond to fire incidents, experts say individuals should be better sensitised on basic fire preventive measures.
“To prevent the incessant occurrence of fire outbreaks in Nigeria, citizens need to be properly sensitised about the dangers of many unsafe acts we practice in our day-to-day activities,” Obike said.
He added, “The government should also ensure that organisations, companies, manufacturing and construction firms, and all other organisations strictly abide by safety rules and regulations.”
