The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has called for stronger collaboration, investment in fire prevention and improved emergency coordination to reduce fire disasters in Kaduna State.

The call was made on Monday at a stakeholders’ engagement on fire disaster management organised by the agency in Kaduna.

The Head of NEMA Operations Office, Kaduna, Halima Suleiman, said coordinated action had become imperative as fire outbreaks continued to claim lives, destroy property and livelihoods, and cause huge economic losses.

Represented by Ikramat Umar, head of NEMA’s Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Unit, Ms Suleiman identified electrical faults, gas explosions, unsafe handling of petroleum products, careless use of naked flames, bush burning, poor storage of combustible materials and weak compliance with fire safety regulations as major causes of fire outbreaks.

She added that rapid urbanisation, congested settlements, poor access roads and delays in reporting emergencies often worsened the impact of fire incidents.

According to her, disaster management is a shared responsibility, stressing that no single agency has the capacity to effectively prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from major fire emergencies.

She said the engagement was convened to review existing coordination mechanisms, identify operational gaps, clarify institutional responsibilities and develop practical strategies to improve emergency response.

“It is always better to prevent disasters than to respond after lives and property have already been lost,” she said.

Also speaking, the Head of Inspection, Investigation and Enforcement, Federal Fire Service, Kaduna Command, Isa Sadiq, said fire prevention remained the most effective strategy for protecting lives and property.

Mr Sadiq expressed concern that many public and private organisations had installed fire detection and suppression systems that were no longer functional due to poor maintenance.

“Most of these facilities have fire safety equipment, but they are not working. They were installed, but many have not been maintained.

“It is better we invest in prevention because once a fire starts, the damage is already done,” he said.

He said the service had commenced profiling organisations with functional firefighting equipment across Kaduna metropolis to strengthen emergency preparedness and improve compliance with fire safety standards.

Mr Sadiq also advocated a unified emergency communication system, saying timely information sharing was critical to effective emergency response.

The forum attracted participants from the Kaduna State Fire and Public Safety Service, Federal Fire Service, Kaduna State Traffic Law Enforcement Authority (KASTLEA), National Orientation Agency (NOA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigerian Red Cross Society, Safety Awareness and Environmental Support Initiative, as well as traditional and religious leaders and media practitioners.

The participants pledged to strengthen collaboration, public sensitisation and emergency preparedness to reduce fire disasters across Kaduna State.

(NAN)