The Controller of the Niger State Fire Service, Baba Alhaji Alikali, has disclosed that about 60 to 70 percent of most domestic fire outbreaks were caused by carelessness.
Speaking in an interview with Newsline Newspapers in his office, the controller, who said fire is a friend but to others, an enemy, explained that fire is one of the best things "we cannot do without because we use it to cook, boil, fabricate, melt, clean, and clear the environment, but it all depends on how you control it.".
He said that as the harmattan season has sprung up, he has advised the general public to be careful in terms of fire activities, urging that safety measures should always be paramount to avoid losing lives and properties.
Baba Alkali warned those in the habit of using fireworks to make use of excessive water to quench it after usage, adding that if not properly quenched, the heat that remained in it can be rekindled when the breeze continues to blow it.
The controller further stated that those who had bushes around their houses should clear them to about 50 feet, stressing that the same method should be applied to those that have plots and uncompleted structures that were not properly kept to equally clear the bushes.
"If you happen to be a neighbour of an abandoned land, please call the owner's attention to come and put the place in order.
"To set a fire, make sure you can contain it, but if you feel you cannot contain it, call on the Niger State Fire Service or the Federal Fire Service to come closer so that by the time you light a fire, they will be on standby in case of any emergency," he said.
He also enjoined the public to desist from keeping petroleum products at home and should not allow children to go very close to matches.
"My advice also goes to women, because they use fire more often, that they should please be sensitive and attentive to everything they do whenever they are going out. They should not forget to turn off electrical and fire appliances like gas, stoves, electric cookers, and heaters before leaving the house.
"The general public should also help us by suspending their house service wires very high because we usually have challenges of free movement when we are on line of duty, which is affecting our tanks to access the victim's houses easily.
"Also, please do not wait for the fire to go viral before you call fire service attention; a stitch in time saves nine," he warned.