Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola says about 136 lives and properties worth N3 trillion was lost to fire outbreaks in different parts of the country in 2021.

Aregbesola who made the disclosure at the decoration of newly promoted Deputy Controllers General of the Service on Thursday in Abuja, however, added that properties worth N18.9 trillion were saved by the Fire Service in the same year.

A statement signed by Sola Fasure, the Minister’s Media Adviser said about 587 lives were saved and 260 persons rescued from fire incidents last year.

The statement explained that the service received a total of 2,845 distress calls.

“Last year, the FFS responded to 2,845 SOS distress-calls in which 136 lives and property worth N3 trillion were lost.”

The statement said the Federal Fire Service has grown in leaps and bounds and has contributed significantly to national security and the protection of lives and property.

Aregbesola said between 2015 and now, the present administration has committed more resources into the Fire Service than since its creation in 1901.

He explained that the attention and resources devoted by the administration are more than whatever has been put into it since its establishment in the past

He explained that between 2015 and 2020, the Federal Government provided 106 modern firefighting trucks to the Federal Fire Service.

He added that last year, the Federal Executive Council also approved (and have since been procured and deployed) N10.4 billion infrastructure upgrade comprising of 44 firefighting engines, 15 water tankers, 15 rapid intervention fire engines (not conventional ones) that can go into the nooks and crannies to respond to distress-calls and 20 basic life support ambulances, explaining that 17 firefighting officers were sent to Belarus for the advanced trainer-training course.

The Minister said the officers are the master trainers that would be training other officers on modern firefighting, disaster and emergency management.