THE EFFICIENCY OF THE FIRE SERVICE IN FIREFIGHTING AND RESCUE OPERATION ACTIVITIES IN ADAMAWA STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of the Study

Many fire service and safety stations across the nation are being challenged by budget crises, rising call volume, personnel and equipment shortages, security issues and the overall expectation to do more with less. Effectively managing these challenges requires a basic understanding of how changes in resources affect community outcomes.

Specifically, it is imperative that fire safety operators, as well as political decision makers, know how fire department resource deployment in their local community affects community outcomes in three important areas; firefighter injury and death, civilian injury and death, and property loss.

However, even with recent technological advances and substantial fire department efforts in fire safety, quick response to emergency, the fire service is not yet able to scientifically quantify experiences to determine the relative effectiveness of deployment decisions, including the type of emergency event, staffing levels/crew size, asset configurations, response time frames, frequency and manner of personnel training, and fire prevention programs. Concerted efforts must be made by all concerned stakeholders to developed operational techniques that will ensure fire safety so as to enables leaders to match resource investments and resources deployed to the risks in the community they serve.

Since early times fire has been one of man's greatest aids to his advancement, it gives him a source of both heat and light. Today fire is still of great benefit to man's well-being if it is controlled, but if allowed to start and spread without strict control it can be one of the greatest hazards man has to face. The ability to control fire was a major change in the habit of early humans. Making fire to generate heat and light made it possible for people to cook food, increasing the variety and availability of nutrients. Fire also kept nocturnal predator at bay.

1.2     Statement of the Problem

The incessant cases of fire disaster have been on the increasing side despite the efforts of the Fire service in Adamawa state to mitigate it. Many lives have been claimed by fire outbreaks while properties worth of billions of Naira have been destroyed. Just of recent, the Yola market in Adamawa State was gutted by fire that consumed about 70% of the shops therein with properties worth billions of Naira, there by leaving the victims in a sympathetic and frustrated state. There are plethora of problems militating against effective prompt service delivery of fire service in Adamawa state and the principals among them are lack of fund as a result of low budgetary allocation by the State government for procurement of modern and sophisticated apparatus, facilities and equipment in firefighting; insufficient manpower development through periodic training and modern skills needed in fire safety unlike what is obtainable in advanced countries; lack of quick prompt response to emergency calls to forestall the fire outbreaks; unfavorable environmental conditions such as bad access road to some communities, inability of government to employed qualified personnel and other specialists with skills in firefighting. Poor network service provision by the GSM operators obstruct people from making emergency calls during fire outbreak and poor publicity and awareness on the toll free number to call in case of emergency.

These challenges have necessitated me to see it as a challenge to embark on this research work with the aim of assessing the efficiency of the Fire Service in firefighting and rescue operation activities in Adamawa State.  

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of this study is to examine the efficiency of the Fire Service in firefighting and rescue operation activities in Adamawa state.

The objectives of the study are:

        i.            To assess the efficiency of the Fire Service in firefighting and rescue operation activities in Adamawa State. 

      ii.            To find out the challenges facing the Fire Service,

    iii.            To find out the amount of success recorded by the Fire Service in the past.

1.4 Scope of the Study

The scope of this study is to assess the efficiency of the Fire Service in firefighting and rescue operation activities in Adamawa state and also to find out the challenges of the organization.

1.5 Significance of the Study

The importance of firefighting and rescue operations by the Fire Service can never be over emphasized; hence the significance of this study cannot be quantified as it is of greater benefit to the government as well as the populace as pertain to fire outbreak and its prevention.

1.6 The Case Study Area

Adamawa is a state in the northeastern Nigeria with its capital in Yola. According to the 2006 population census, Adamawa state constitutes 21 Local Governments, measures 36,917 km² (14,254 sq mi) and had a population of 3,737,223 as at 2001 national population census.

1.7 Research Questions

        i.            What is the efficiency of Fire Service in firefighting and rescue operation activities in Adamawa state?

      ii.            What are the challenges faced by Fire Service in firefighting and rescue operation activities in Adamawa state? 

    iii.            Is the Fire Service in Adamawa State of help in times of fire disaster?

1.8 Definition of Terms

Disaster: this is an event, natural or man-made, sudden or progressive, which impacts with such severity that the affected community or individual has to respond by taking exceptional measures.

Disaster management: is the systematic observation and analysis of disasters to improve measures relating to prevention, mitigation, preparedness, emergency response and recovery.

Risk: is the relative degree of probability that a hazardous event will occur. An active fault zone, for example, would be an area of high risk.

Mitigation: is action taken to reduce both human suffering and property loss resulting from extreme natural phenomena. Measures include land use planning, improved disaster-resistant building techniques, and better agricultural practices.

Disaster Prevention: this is action taken to eliminate or avoid harmful natural phenomena and their effects. Examples of prevention include cloud seeding to control meteorological patterns, pest control to prevent locust swarms, erection of dams or levees to prevent flooding, etc.

Intervention: this refers to an action taken in order to change the course of events. In disaster management the term's use is similar to the medical sense, i.e., disaster response initiated from outside the affected community is a form of intervention and, as such, must be handled with care because it does come from without. It therefore always runs the risk of being more disruptive than productive.

Vulnerability: this is a condition wherein human settlements, buildings, agriculture, or human health are exposed to a disaster by virtue of their construction or proximity to hazardous terrain.

Maintenance: refers to the services that are provided to refugees during the period after the emergency but before a permanent solution to their plight is developed. Maintenance operations may include tracing and family reunification, general care and food distribution, a variety of social services such as education and cultural activities, and efforts to help the people to become as self-sufficient as possible under the circumstances.

Hazard: means threats to life, well-being, material goods or the environment.

Recovery: this means the decisions and actions taken after a disaster with a view to restoring or improving the pre-disaster living conditions of the stricken community, while encouraging and facilitating necessary adjustments to reduce disaster risk.

Relief: this means the provision of assistance or intervention during or immediately after a disaster in order bring relief to people and communities affected by a disaster.

Risk reduction: this means measures taken to reduce long-term risks associated with human activity or natural events.

Emergency: Is a situation generated by the real or imminent occurrence of an event that requires immediate attention¡¨ (key words). Paying immediate attention to an event or situation as described above is important as the event/situation can generate negative consequences and escalate into an emergency. The purpose of planning is to minimize those consequences.

Assistance: to help support affected persons with relief materials and make sure it is properly distributed amongst the people.