FIRE SERVICE, CORP MEMBERS SENSITIZE STUDENTS ON SAFETY CAUTIOUSNESS
The Diamond Group of Market Place Readiness Program under the skill acquisition and entrepreneurial development of NYSC in partnership with the Lagos State Fire Service was privileged to help educate secondary school students of Opebi Grammar School, Lagos.
The Program hinged on the theme: Know Safety, No Pain – No Safety, Know Pain; was anchored by Senior Fire Officers, Olukotun Afeez and Adegboye Adeola of the LSFS helping to equip 50 students practically on how to react when they find themselves in fire through an engaging lecture that delved into the importance of safety, fire outbreak experiences and various commonplace scenarios of carelessness and use of inferior electrical cables that promote these accidents.
Quite a number of the students had experienced the ugly side of fire accidents at one point or the other in their young lives, and they witnessed that it was indeed scary, unpleasant but avoidable. The lecture got off to a good start, as fire was preached as a scourge- and eradicating or minimizing these events from frequenting the communities we live in has to be intentional as we jointly engage actively in spreading the campaign of safety – because it is way well worth an investment of our time and energies.
Part of the important safety tips included: Evacuating the premises when there is a fire (Fire is not deadly – so run); locating the nearest exit to make an escape. – Touch the doors with the back of your hand gently – if it’s hot, know for sure that there is a fire beyond that exit. Calling for help/Raising an alarm – shouting to the neighbors’ can be very helpful in raising the awareness that is needed to quickly arrest the situation. Calling the nearest Fire service station – Lagos Emergency Numbers are 112 and 767. There are 14 functioning fire stations in Lagos state, and having a safety plan – participate in drills, be cautious and imbibe safe practice.
After the lecture, the students had practical sessions with the facilitators, the highlight of the event was making a fire for purposes of experiments and teaching the students how to watch wind directions and smother the fire with a fire blanket. Direct application of the knowledge gained previously when they were taught about the triangle of combustion.
This knowledge that was garnered through the program can be applicable in different situations, and that is the goal of the project – re-orienting young people to be intentional about the day-to-day activities, in a bid to achieve much safer schools with students that are actively involved in the cause of safety.
The program was also attended members of staff of the Opebi Grammar School, the Principal and Vice-Principal, Mrs. Awopetu.
Mr. I.B Bankole, the PHE Teacher who spoke on the relevance of knowledge gained attested that he had benefited immensely and he would service his fire extinguishers within the required time frame going forward. Feedback from the students was great, as they demonstrated enthusiasm and were full of gratitude for the opportunity to learn something valuable for free. , a SS2 Student and acting prefect of the school added that they will take up the challenge to be safety smart ambassadors that will help inform other young people in the school about what they had just learnt.
The Safety smart Initiative was organized by five (5) currently serving Lagos Corp Members, John Felix, John Adedigba, Paul Chinaza , Lawrence , Malachi; as part of a Community development Project geared towards educating and preventing sometimes senseless avoidable disasters across the State.
Many thanks to Fifth Gear Plus Consulting, Niyi Adesanya , Sola Amusan , and other facilitators at Market Place Readiness program for Mentorship, and support.
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