Pattern and Causes of Fire Incidents in Lagos State, Nigeria.
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Date
2017
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Geography and Environmental Management University of Port- Harcourt.
Abstract
Lagos state has recently experienced an amplified rate of fire occurrences and this has resulted in the loss of lives and properties, disruption of economic activities and increases the health burdens Of the state. The objectives set out in the study were to:(i) identify the pattern of fire service stations in Lagos; (ii) examine the major causes of fire incidents in the study area , (iii) assess the trend of fire incidents in the study area. Primary and secondary data were employed in the study. The secondary data were gotten from Lagos State Fire Service, National Population Commission while primary data Was derived through the administration of structured questionnaire to respondents. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed. A sample size of 400 respondents was selected in different locations including fire stations, markets, hospitals and settlements. Descriptive statistics including percentages, charts and tables were used to analyze the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and the causes of fire outbreaks while Arc-GIS tool was used to depict the pattern of fire stations in the state. Trend analysis was employed to show the rate of fire occurrences in the study area. The result of the findings revealed that leading causes of fire incidents are gas leakages (39%) and electrical failure(44%) and candle(14%).Also a total of 2342, 1774, 1499,and 1627 fire incidents call were recorded in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. The study recommends that enlightenment programmes should be embarked upon and that fire prevention and fighting must be mutually pursued by government and the citizens.
Description
Keywords
Fire out break, Building , Incidence, Urban, Susceptibility