Lead Consultant and Principal Founder of Safety Consultants and Solutions Providers (SCSP), Antonia Beri, has called for the training and empowerment of fire service personnel in enabling and reinforcing the culture of compliance to reduce the challenges of fire incidents across the country.
Speaking at the just-concluded Lagos Int’l Fire Safety Conference, recently, Beri, said that the need to equip the fire service personnel was paramount to conduct thorough inspections and enforce penalties without fear or favour.
According to her, this will be achieved through effective collaboration among critical stakeholders to enhance compliance with various safety regulations both at home and workplace. She decried the weak enforcement of fire safety regulations, blaming it for recurring fire incidents in the country and Lagos State in recent times.
Specifically, she maintained that the over N25 million loss to fire in Lagos between May 2023 and 2024, with the Balogun market tragedy being the most recent, exposed a wide enforcement gap, which she said calls for concern.
The safety expert also stated that the over N3 trillion national loss to fire between 2015 and 2022 was avoidable with regular inspections and strict enforcement of safety standards.
Beri expressed worry that huge life and economic losses to fire disasters were due to safety negligence and human complacency, insisting that legislations are meant to be enforced.
Beri, who spoke on the theme, ‘Stakeholders Collaboration: A Panacea to Incessant Fire Disasters in Lagos’, said that Lagos with a high-level sophistication, characterised by rapid development and dense population poses unique fire safety challenges. She explained that Lagos’ preparations against fire disasters were echoed in the Lagos State Fire Service Law that was not followed through.
“This law, including Building Codes and Public Safety Laws, mandate the use of fire-resistant materials, the inclusion of fire escapes in building designs, and the installation of fire detection and suppression systems,” she stated.
Beri added, “At SCSP, we partner with regulatory authorities, public and private firms committed to best practices in life and safety risk management. We are committed to bridging knowledge and skill gaps through training in corporate governance, consultancy, standardisation, advocacy and proffering of targeted solutions all geared towards public and private sector initiatives on life, fire and safety risk management.”
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