As the harmattan season sets in, the Federal Fire Service, Zone E, Uyo has embarked on fire awareness campaign to sensitise the public on preventive measures to curb fire outbreak. The campaign which had the theme: Kill Fire Before Fire Kills You, was undertaken along major streets of Uyo metropolis, Itam Market, Mechanic Village and Akwa Ibom Transport Corporation (AKTC) park. The zonal commander, Federal Fire Service, Zone E, Uyo, DCF Ekpah Solomon, said the aim of the campaign was to help sensitize the public on what they needed to do in an event of fire outbreak. Solomon, who noted that during the harmattan season cases of fire outbreak do increase, said it became pertinent for the Federal Fire Service to approve the yearly fire awareness campaign. The campaign, he said, was in line with the core mandate of the fire service to mitigate fire outbreak. He mentioned causes of fire outbreak to include carelessness and willful act of individuals and admonished the public to be fire conscious by observing safety tips to prevent its outbreak. The zonal commander admonished the public to imbibe safety tips which include: don’t overload electronic sockets, ensure all electrical appliances are switched off when not in use and ensure you place a burning candle on a metal stand. Others are: don’t keep petroleum product in the house, keep matches away from children and don’t keep your cooking gas in the kitchen. He called on the public to adhere to preventive measures and endeavour to call the Federal Fire Service on 09014318996 and 08090440552, assuring that they will respond promptly to their rescue. The planning committee chairman and head of Protocol department, Mr Usen T. Obong, thanked the staff for coming out for the campaign and expressed optimism that the sensitization campaign would go a long way to yielding positive response from the public. High point of the campaign was demonstration on how to extinguish fire in an event of outbreak.
