The Federal Government says it plans to rebrand the Federal Fire Service in the coming months.
The rebranding would expand the scope of the service as well as include a change of name.
Speaking during the inauguration of 15 firefighting trucks and rapid response vehicles in Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said the service, when rebranded, would carry out rescue-related duties.
He said,
“The fire service will soon be rebranded as the Federal Fire and Rescue Service. They will be expected to collect information, assess risk in various areas, and protect the health and safety of workers. Your vehicle’s safety must not be jeopardized. We must develop a robust, implementable, and adequately driven fire and rescue national framework.
“This framework should identify and assess the full range of foreseeable fire and rescue-related risks, make provisions for prevention and protection activities, and respond to incidents appropriately.”
Alluding to the employment opportunities created by the fire services in foreign countries, the minister assured that with the rebranding, the fire service would create jobs through the service.
He said,
“Outside of the national scope, just the city of New York employs 11,000 firefighting employees, 4,274 emergency medical service employees, and 2,096 civilian employees, giving us a total of 17,370 employees. In the United States of America, there are 1 million and 41,200 career and volunteer firefighters as of 2020.
“Nigeria is one of the world’s biggest economies. This means we cannot continue to neglect the issue of fire service. My personal opinion, as well as my position as a minister of the interior, is that the fire service should and will be a major employer in Nigeria. We are entering a new era that will foster employment through the Federal Fire Service. ”
The Controller General of the service, Jaji Abdulganiyu said in the first and second quarters of the year, the service received 1,096 distressed calls, saved 111 lives, and saved 91 properties worth over N300bn were saved.
“The statistics reeled out will be better in the coming days, as today marks yet another important milestone in our country’s history as we are here to witness the commissioning of the state-of-the-art firefighting trucks and Ford Rapid Response Vehicles,” he added.