The Federal Fire Service (FFS), Kaduna State command, has blamed negligence and poor electrification for the fire incident that occurred at the Panateka wood market.
Usman Sadiq, Deputy State Controller of Fire, made this clarification in a statement on Friday in Kaduna.
Sadiq explained that the fire incident which started late hours of Wednesday at 11 pm, affected no fewer than 250 stalls.
He said the officers of the command immediately rushed to the scene of the incident on receiving the distress call around 11:30 p.m., while the fire was put under control at about 5 a.m. Thursday.
“It has been confirmed that the fire was caused by negligence from poor electrification system within the affected areas of the market.
“However, we wish to inform the general public that collaboration by the state command, NEMA, SEMA and state fire service has been put in place to carry out investigation regarding the actual cause of the fire incident.
“This is with a view to proffering lasting solution to occurrences of fire incidents in our market places.’’
He noted that it was sad so many people lost their source of livelihood, adding that service felt their pains.
”At this tragic time, we wish to pledge our commitment towards providing better, effective and efficient service delivery to forestall future occurrences by providing the required services enshrined in our mandate.
“We call on all residents to have the command’s emergency numbers stationed across the state.
“This is taking into cognisance the nearest station to their individual areas of residence and businesses to ensure prompt response in case of any unforeseen emergency,’’ he said.
Sadiq tasked residents on the importance of every preventive measure against fire, other related-emergencies by ensuring adequate provision of functional fire extinguishers.
He also advised against tampering with the master plan of the market design, and called for constant reach out to FFS offices for periodic inspection, basic training and certification.
Sadiq revealed that the command in collaboration with its stakeholders planned on holding a conference on “Incessant Fire Outbreaks and the Role of Key Stakeholders’’ very soon.
