•State records 20% drop in annual fire cases, holds Fire Safety summit
•Sanwo-Olu: ‘Our advocacy, investments in fire safety yielded fruits’
Lagos State has recorded a sharp drop in emergencies related to fire incidents, rescuing 450 victims from potentially fatal fire incidents and salvaging properties worth N117.12 billion across the State.
The development, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu noted, was the direct result of a sustained infrastructure support for the State’s emergency response teams and an intensive fire safety advocacy of the State Government aimed at reducing the risk of fire hazards.
The progress report, which put the reduction rate of fire incident in Lagos at 20 per cent in 2024, was rolled out at the second edition of Lagos International Fire Safety Conference (LIFSC) organised by the Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations.
The two-day event with the theme: “Leveraging Technology and Community Engagement to Prevent Fire”, was hosted at Federal Palace Hotels, Victoria Island.
The 2024 Fire Report presented by the Director of Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Mrs. Margret Adeseye, said Lagos recorded a total of 1,952 emergency calls in 2024, out of which 1,607 were fire-related incidents that occurred with minimal casualties at the incident sites.
In 2023, Lagos Fire and Rescue Service responded to over 2,500 distress calls in cases related to fire and rescue operations.
Sanwo-Olu said the sharp decline in fire emergencies in Lagos in 2024 was not coincidental, noting that the development was a direct outcome of continuous efforts by his administration to provide modern fire-fighting equipment, deploy technology and improve mobility.
This, the Governor observed, had bolstered the capacity of the Lagos Fire and Rescue Service in responding to emergency situations as quick as it could to salvage lives and properties.
He said: “In 2023, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service responded to over 2,500 calls. By last year, we responded to a number of emergencies that is lower than the previous year. This is a significant drop and what this means is that, our advocacy, communication and engagement efforts are working. It means Lagos residents are becoming a lot more conscious of their responsibilities to identify hazards that can turn to devastating fire disasters.
“Given the development, it also means that we have raised our ability to manage emergencies. We are beginning to see the effect of the synergy between the Government, private sector and communities in reducing fire hazard. The significant drop in the rate of fire incidents certainly proves something powerful about the strategy we have adopted. I strongly believe 2025 report will show more reduction in fire cases.”
Sanwo-Olu disclosed that his administration, in the last six years, had built 25 new fire stations across the State to beef up fire and rescue operations, adding that four more fire stations would be delivered in the coming months.
He added that his Government had equipped the State’s fire service with over 60 standard fire trucks in the last two years, in addition to firefighting kits.
Aside provision of modern equipment to combat fire, the Governor said the State had been focusing on leveraging smart technology and active community participation in building fire resilience in communities.
Sanwo-Olu said Lagos had raised its fire-fighting capabilities with the acquisition of drones that could fly and to detect fire source over high altitude buildings.
He said: “We are retooling and refurbishing our Command and Control Centre. We are bringing highest level of technology into the Centre. We will have improved capacity to respond to emergency calls and dispatch necessary rescue infrastructure to any part of the State.
“We want to be able to have fire stations that will be closer to the communities. We currently have about 15 minutes response time to incidents. Our aim is to provide necessary infrastructure and skills that will enable us have five to seven minutes response time. This is what is befitting of a big city as Lagos.”
Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Mr. Gbenga Oyerinde, said the conference was part of activities the Ministry initiated to promote awareness about fire safety and enhance stakeholders’ cooperation.
Oyerinde said fire safety should not be seen as sole responsibility of the Government, but a shared mandate that required active participation from individuals, communities and the private sector.
“It is in this reason we have come together at this conference, brought experts to share perspectives on the latest best practices in fore protection and management”, the Commissioner said.
As part of moves towards reducing risk of fire injuries, Adeseye said Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service had reinforced its fire safety approach, inspecting 7,870 facilities in 2024 for fire risk assessments.
She said the agency issued 7,039 fire certificates to companies, hotels, restaurants, filling stations, schools, vocational centres, stores, hospitals and bakeries.
Despite the successes recorded in firefighting in 2024, Adeseye said the agency’s fire rescue operations recovered 91 casualties from incident sites, while properties worth N19.5 billion could not be salvaged.
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