The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has advised Nigerians to be safety conscious to prevent fire incidents in their environment,  the Acting Zonal Coordinator, South-West Zonal Office,  Ibrahim Farinloye, gave the advise in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.

The advice is coming in his reaction to Saturday’s fire outbreak at Ijesa Market in Surulere, Lagos.

Farinloye  said that though no life was lost in the incident, 14 shops were completely destroyed while 48 others were partially damaged.

He said the fire also destroyed an adjoining residential house with 24 rooms, adding that 62 traders and about 28 households were all affected.

According to him, the fire is suspected to have started from a room converted to shop while the occupant was cooking with a gas cylinder, which suddenly caught fire.

“A slight mistake can destroy our own and immediate neighbour’s lifetime savings and assets.

“Thus, there is the need for us all to be safety conscious.

“We must avoid unsafe practices when handling naked or any inflammable materials.

“We must also avoid using power generators indoor,’’ Farinloye said.

He further spoke on the need to always to be vigilant whenever people burn bushes during this period.

“Also, when we know that we are fatigued after returning from work, we should take a little nap before going to the kitchen to cook.

“We should also avoid using laptops on our beds or leave it through the night to charge.

“If we abide by these safety precautions, we will be able to reduce fire incidents in our environment,’’ he said.

The coordinator reiterated that the rationale behind the establishment of the NEMA Grassroots Emergency Volunteer Corps (GEVC) was to co-opt members of the public into disaster awareness and management.