Urban Fire Safety Management and Preparedness: Case Study of Asaba Metropolis, Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study reported fire safety management and preparedness in Asaba Metropolis, Delta State, Nigeria. This was carried out with the use of structured questionnaire, checklist, observations, oral interviews and secondary data from Delta State fire service Asaba. The respondents were asked questions in the following areas: fire hazard identification, fire risk, fire hazard elimination and general knowledge of fire safety. The results show that electrical source of fire incident was about 90%, implying the major source of fire incident in the Metropolis. Emergency preparedness by way of evacuation plan in case of fire outbreak do not vary significantly (P>0.05) for all the assessed sites, provision of fire suppressant system range between 14 – 32%. Provision of Fire alarm system ranges between 15 – 23% in all the location assessed. However, housekeeping methods were above average in all the sites visited within the Metropolis. Ways to improves fire safety in the Metropolis were suggested.