By STANLEY NWANOSIKE

The Enugu State Government says it has commenced the relocation of cooking gas outlets to safe places within neighbourhoods in Enugu metropolis and its outskirts.

The state’s Chief Fire and Rescue Officer, Chief Okwudili Ohaa, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Monday that the move had saved the state from some avoidable fire disasters in recent time.

Ohaa said that the state government was carrying out the relocation after a massive sensitisation of the retailers of the cooking gas refill outlets at the various units of their association within the Enugu metropolis and beyond.

According to him, we have fully enlightened them on the dangers of operating in certain neighbourhoods and on the need to follow operating standard for each outlets and having a functional giant fire extinguisher.

“The task force members carrying out the relocation and putting sanity on the current multiple springing up of cooking gas (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) refill outlets are officers of the Enugu State Fire Service.

“We do this with active collaboration of the state’s LPG outlets association.

“The task force ensures that the cooking gas refill outlets are suitable, have required licence to operate.

“The task force working for months now has made a lot of discoveries and prevented a lot of fire incidents by closing down those refill outlets that are located in un-conducive and unsuitable places or environment to safe places.

“The Enugu State Fire Service also helps them to relocate by way of suggesting a safe location they can go and restart their refill businesses,” he said.

Ohaa said that the task force assignment was still ongoing and the state government was fashioning out ways to assist those that are relocating to safe places for their businesses.

“Considering the effect of the relocation on the retailers of the gas refill outlets, we have approached Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who graciously approved that fire extinguishers of various giant sizes be given free-of-charge to the retailers.

“So far, we have given fire extinguishers of various giant sizes to 78 cooking gas refill outlets that relocated to further encourage to them to continue in their businesses in their new and safe locations.

“The gesture of our amiable governor is part of his administration’s zero tolerance to our fire outbreak programme in the state,” he said. (NAN)

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