Lagos State Government has inaugurated Safety and Emergency Marshals, urging for concerted efforts to achieve a zero fire incident in the market places in the state.
The Director Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola, made this call, while speaking at Obanikoro Market, Lagos Island, saying that it had become important to have market representatives that would ensure emergency preparedness in Lagos Markets to prevent fire disaster.
Mojola said that the training was designed to avail the participants on the hazards identification, prevention, recovery and response around the markets.
This was just as the State Safety Commission boss recalled that past fire disasters had caused the state compensation to the victims and insurance costs to the market men and women, saying that such had made the agency to recalibrate its programme by consistently sensitising the people and train them on how to identify hazards.
“Safety is a collective responsibility and what we have decided to do is to take samples of market men and women and train them on principles of safety.
“Today we have brought together a team of 50 people that were being trained on market safety and they will be the first set of market safety fire wardens in this market.
“We are trying to enlighten them, so that we do not have any fire disaster. We are taking them through the causes of fire, the idea of leaving the electric sockets on after work, placement of the generator inside their shops and lack of fire extinguishers being improper.
“But beyond fire, we still have risks in the market, we have others, like running and flying cables and all that. So, It is a holistic measure on how we can have safer markets and ensure a sustainable market with zero fire incidents going forward in Lagos State,” he said.
Speaking further, Mojola stated that the delay in convocation of the safety team in Lagos Island market was to put the necessary measures in place, noting that it was not difficult getting the people together, having done so in a number of smaller markets across the state.
According to him, the delay was to ensure that the model was right by applying top down and bottom up approach, saying that the agency had now involved the Locals, CDA, CDC, the head of markets in the formation.
“It is not difficult getting the people together, we have done this in a number of smaller markets across the state, but the reason why we have delayed the one for Lagos Island is because we wanted to get our model right and I believe we have our model right now because now, we have involved the Locals, CDA, CDC, the head of markets, among others, so we are applying top down and bottom up approach.
“They will be the first line of whistle blowers that will identify some of these infractions and we are empowering them to report directly to us. They have become a board where they can also regulate activities in the market, to check against smoking, cooking, use of generators in the markets,” Mojola stated.
Earlier, the Technical Adviser, Lagos Safety Commission, Mr. Seun Awojobi, explained that markets were vital to the economic development of the state, saying that they remained the hub of commerce and must be protected from hazards such as fire outbreak, accident and others.
Awojobi, who spoke through a staff of the agency, Mrs. Omowunimi Ibraheem, stressed that accidents could be brought to zero if everyone takes responsibility, assuring that the programme would go a long way to foster a culture of safety and ensure safer Lagos that would be envious of all.
A facilitator at the training, Mr. Adeyinka Adebiyi, exposed the participants to hazards in the markets as he reeled out comprehensive principles of safety.
According to him, the agency had Inaugurated the Safety Marshals as a form of preventive mechanism to ensure there were no infractions in the market and ensure that people were not endangered as the Safety Marshals would serve as the mouth piece of the government.
He urged them to monitor other market users to ensure they always switch off the electric sockets before leaving the markets and comply with all safety standards to avoid any form of accident.
The Chairman, Community Development Association (CDA) of the area, Mr. Sunday Ogunlana and leader of Obanikoro Market, Mr. Lateef Iyaniwura, both commended the initiative by the state government towards ensuring fire incidents in the marketplace were reduced to the bearest minimum.