The Edo Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Special Duties, Mr Damian Lawani, says the State Government, will purchase new fire fighting trucks to curtail fire outbreaks in the state.
Lawani told News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) in an interview in Benin on Monday that the State Government through his ministry, had began the refurbishment of the existing fire fighting trucks in the state.
The commissioner was reacting to the Saturday’s fire incident at the Santana market in Benin which consumed many shops and valuable goods and in which the state fire service was berated for slow response to the incident.
He said “before now we had fire fighting vehicles that were not functioning and the governor ordered that all be refurbished. The repair work is currently ongoing.
“And to support the old trucks, government decided to purchase new fire fighting trucks. Agreements have been reached with a company to supply the fire trucks very soon
“In a short while, the vehicles will arrive, you know there is a lot of bureaucracy when it comes to government transactions,” he said.
According to the commissioner, Gov. Godwin Obaseki is committed to ensuring that the state fire service is well equipped with fire fighting equipment.
He however, sympathised with victims of the Saturday night Santana market fire incident, in which several million Naira worth of goods were gutted.
“The men that put out the fire, were from the state fire service; but because they did not come there with their fire fighting trucks, people thought the fire service did not respond to the distress calls.
“They were actually the ones that called for the NPDC fire vehicles which they used. One of them nurses severe injury and he is in the hospital as we speak,” he said.
Lawani advised the citizens to help government by switching off electrical appliances both at homes, market places and their offices either when leaving the house or after close of work to prevent fire outbreaks
NAN reports that no fewer than 300 shops and goods worth millions of Naira were on Saturday night destroyed by fire that engulfed Santana market on Sapele road in Benin, Edo.
