With the evolution of safety and the ever-growing need for safety of operations in the different sectors of the Nigerian economy, the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) is working to implement policies to ensure the safety of citizens, assets, and the environment.

The “Prince Ebeano Supermarket” is one of the business enterprises that has a chain of outlets in major cities across Nigeria. It's no longer news that the multi-million-naira Supermarket facility in Lokogoma Abuja was gutted by fire on Saturday the 17th of July 2021.

Fire disasters in Nigeria have always been plagued by the blame game usually attributed to the slow response time or the extended E.T.A of the Fire Service at the scene or the lack of sincere commitment of the AHJ to sustainable development in terms of infrastructure but leave out “Safety is everybody’s business” and the failure of the business owner or organization responsibility to itself and the society at large, a typical example being the unsafe acts and conditions which exposed the utter disregard of life during the “Otedola bridge inferno”.

Those who understand the dynamics of fire safety systems know that every fire disaster in Nigeria always exposes our culture of crude or almost nonexistent preparedness for possible disasters and a critical analysis of the enabling factor for the propagation of the fire hazard will highlight the root cause of the incident in general as the risk entails not only financial or reputational loss to the business owner but a possibility for loss of lives.

Fire safety is a fundamental consideration in building design and management, but unfortunately, one that is often overlooked as concepts like firewalls are today more likely to be associated with IT security than with physical safety. This concept utilizes both passive and active means for fire risk detection and mitigation.

From an engineering perspective, fire risks are avoidable to residual levels or to As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) and this is achieved using proper engineering principles benchmarked to several performance criteria to prevent the occurrence of a fire incident or contain and extinguish the incipient fire.

As an employer, you have a legal duty to carry out a fire safety risk assessment and to make sure that your workplace, the people who work there, and the general public are kept safe from fire and its effects. You will also need to make sure that your workplace contains the necessary fire safety precautions (active and passive) and that these are maintained. You should also provide information, instruction, and training to your employees about fire prevention and what to do in the event of a fire.

The fire disaster at the Prince Ebeano supermarket facility could have been controlled had the proper safety measures been taken. This calls to mind the Hierarchy of Controls in their order of efficacy and peculiarity to the subject matter include: Read More HERE