The Benue State Fire Service said no fewer than 101 fire outbreaks were recorded between January and November 2019.
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Service, Mr. Doo Shave,said 90 per cent of the outbreaks was caused by carelessness.
He appealed to the masses to take fire safety seriously by installing safety gadgets as it was better to prevent fire outbreaks than control infernos.
“The public should take fire safety seriously. You see it is better to prevent fire than to control it. We have recorded from January to date, 101 fire outbreaks across the state. These outbreaks are caused by carelessness; carelessness includes carrying out certain acts or things that can be avoided or controlled,’’ he added.
According to him, people often ignore things such as installation of fire safety gadgets, smoke detectors, fire alarms, automatic fire extinguishers in their homes and offices.
“Each house should have a functional fire extinguisher and all households’ members should know how to use it,” Shave said. He said the recent fire outbreak at Wadata Market was caused by carelessness as the fire started at the side where chickens were usually slaughtered.