Property worth N2.28 billion were lost to fire incidents in the State of Osun in 2022.
Sodiq Yusuf
Findings by OSUN DEFENDER revealed that negligence of the property owner and the state government’s inability to provide the needed facilities to swiftly attend to fire incident were responsible for the upsurge.
This is just as a civil society, Concerned Osun Citizens, attributed the ugly trend to the attitude of the immediate past administration in the state to address areas of providing urgent intervention when the natural disaster occurs.
The COC is of the opinion that if the previous administration had upgraded firefighting equipment and service stations put in place by the government before it, the situation may not have been that worse.
It would be recalled that the State Fire Service had in March said property worth N2.28 billion were lost to fire outbreaks in the state between January and December, 2022.
According to the data, the losses were from 130 incidents.
The data also reflected that majority of the outbreaks took place between January and March, with November recording the highest property loss of N1.13 billion to seven different fire outbreaks.
February recorded the highest incidents of fire outbreaks with 47 incidents and property worth more than N674m was destroyed.
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Two persons, according to the data, died from the fire incidents in September, with the months of harmattan/dry season having the highest records of outbreaks.
Oyetola’s Administration Neglected Fire Service, Infrastructure – CSO
Expressing worry over the alarming figure, the Spokesperson, Osun Concerned Citizens, Afeez Oyekunle, in a statement berated the former governor Adegboyega Oyetola for jettisoning legacies that in the long run has had its attendant effects on the people.
Oyekunle said the civil society is also concerned that critical assets put in place with taxpayers money should have not been regarded non-useful and as such contributed immensely to the situation.
The COC urged Governor Ademola Adeleke to revitalise the Osun State Fire Service for efficiency so as to stem the tide in 2023.
Oyekunle said: “The figures the state fire service released in April are alarming. Our group is concerned that with all the infrastructure put in place in the Aregbesola era, the situation can still turn out like this.
“We are deeply committed to good governance and seeing that the Gboyega Oyetola administration decided to abandon most of the emergency service points and stations to a large extent, demonstrated politics taken too far at the detriment of the people.
“Properties lost in fire incidents are mostly difficult to regain. We want to appeal to our people not to allow their man-made attitudes wreak havoc. Also, we call on the government of Senator Ademola Adeleke to rejig the state fire service for further efficiency.
“We also seek the procurement of up to date fire safety equipment stationed at strategic locations across the state to combat the ugly natural disaster head on.”
Outbreaks Majorly Caused By Bush Burning – Adekunle
However, the spokesperson of the fire service in the state, Mr. Ibrahim Adekunle, disclosed that the high numbers of outbreaks recorded during the 2022 harmattan/dry season was mostly due to open fire and bush burning.
Adekunle said there was nothing special that caused an inferno during the dry season more than the rainy season.
He said the only difference was the bush burning during the dry season, which was not applicable in the rainy season.
Adekunle advised people to take precautions against fire outbreaks and always remember to switch off their electrical appliances and remove the cords from electrical sockets when there was no light and whenever they were going out.”
Adekunle explained that 85 per cent of domestic outbreaks came from the kitchen and electrical appliances, adding that if people adhere to the cautionary directives, there would be a drastic reduction in fire outbreaks.
