Gov. Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State has commended the Federal Government over deployment of a modern fire-fighting truck to the state.
Yahaya gave the commendation in Gombe on Tuesday during the official inauguration of the fire-fighting truck.
He said that the timing for the provision of the fire-fighting truck and support services to Gombe State complemented efforts in fighting fire outbreaks in the state.
The governor said that with the kind of destruction of lives and investments that accompanied fire outbreak, it was imperative for investments to be made to help minimise such damages.
According to him, President Muhammadu Buhari had done the needful in resuscitating the Federal Fire Service which he said had been abandoned without support, equipment and encouragement to help the service deliver on its mandate.
“With the change mantra and new impetus that Mr President brought to the service, it is now a different story and a positive one for that matter.
“For this we appreciate Mr President and Rauf Aregbesola, the Minister of Interior,” Yahaya said.
While assuring a conducive environment for the fire service to operate in Gombe State, the governor also pledged to ensure training of officials of the state’s fire-fighting board.
Earlier, the Controller-General of the Federal Fire Service (FFS), Dr Liman Ibrahim, who delivered the fire-fighting truck described the fire truck as a “huge national asset’’.
Ibrahim appealed to the state government to allocate two utility vehicles to complement the service in the area of fire risk assessment and rapid intervention in the event of emergencies.
The controller-general called for more training for firemen and the strengthening of the state’s fire service through recruitment of capable hands, upgrade of equipment and enhanced welfare package for its personnel.