The Kano State Government is to sanction fuel stations that have no functional fire–fighting equipment.
This is contained in a statement issued by Ameen Yassar, Director-General, Media and Public Relations, Government House Kano.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor gave the directive, during a visit to victims of a fire incident on admission at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital.
NAN reports that 68 victims were caught up in a fire incident at the Al-Ihsan Filling Petroleum Company, Sharada, Kano.
Gov.Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano has directed the Fire Service to reprimanded those stations with faulty fire equipment.
”We will not allow fuel to be sold under hazardous circumstances. The State Fire Service must undertake routine inspection of filling stations to ensure that they complied with all safety standards, so that lives and property are not endangered.
“In the same vein, he ordered the agency to conduct regular seminars for employees of filing stations, to educate them on best practices in fuel management and fire prevention.
“What happened at this station is terrible but preventable. This could not have happened had the fuel attendant who mishandled the situation been educated on risk and safety at filling stations”, Ganduje said.
Also speaking, the Director, Kano State Fire Service, Alhaji Hassan Ahamad explained that his office received a distress call from the station on Saturday evening and responded appropriately.
“We put out the fire within two hours, but sadly, a fuel attendant mistakenly opened a fuel compartment and instantly there was an explosion and 68 people were injured”, he stated.
He said out of the 68 victims, eight were his men, including his deputy, who led firefighters to the venue of the incident, adding that the victims with various degrees of injury, including burns are on admission at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital.