The Federal Government has unveiled plans to expand the National Fire Academy’s functions to include the training and incorporation of private firefighters as part of an effort to effectively combat fire incidents nationwide.
Upon implementation, this initiative is expected to give rise to a cadre of private firefighters operating within the country.
Following his inaugural inspection visit to the academy, Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, articulated the government’s intention to certify private firefighters, akin to the private guards employed by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. He emphasized that the inclusion of private firefighters is deemed essential to enhance the overall effectiveness of fire services and to bolster their response capabilities.
The media aide to the minister, Alao Babatunde, in a statement on Thursday, quoted his principal as saying, “Today, we have over three million private guards certified by the NSCDC. We can have something similar for the fire service. We need private fire servicemen to enhance our service and response time. The President’s Renewed Hope agenda has charged us to be innovative if we must change the narrative.
“As a matter of fact, this is another innovative way to generate revenue because we expect that anyone looking to become a safety or security guard should get trained and certified by this academy.”
When the plan was implemented, Tunji-Ojo asked all institutions and recreation facilities to hire qualified fire and safety employees who had received training from the academy.
He said, “A lot has been done, but there is still a lot more to be done. With what I have seen here, I can guarantee you that we will work very hard to see that this facility will not only be useful in training officers of the fire service but also for the private sector.
“We must make fire safety a personal affair. Every institution, commercial and social recreation centre should have certified fire and safety personnel, trained by this facility.”
“All public and commercial buildings and infrastructure such as banks, hotels, malls, restaurants, or even government buildings should have first responders that can administer basic firefighting remedy while waiting for the arrival of a full operation squad of the country’s fire service.”
