Nigerian Air Force and firefighters announce partnership
The Nigerian Air Force and the country’s Federal Fire Service have set up a committee to support collaboration on the provision of aerial firefighting services
It follows a meeting between Dr Karebo Pere Samson, Acting Controller General of the Federal Fire Service, and Air Marshal Isiaka Oladayo Amao, the air force’s Chief of Air Staff, according to a report by public broadcaster Radio Nigeria.
Amao commented: “The Nigerian Air force have firefighting aircraft in its possession and I believe with training and capacity building to our officers, we will effectively carry out this important task.”
The partnership is expected to offer new angles of approach for dealing with blazes, as well as providing improved accessibility for fires in areas that have poor accessibility by road.
Samson told Radio Nigeria: “When this collaboration comes to fruition, the time for the arrival of fire fighting trucks and officers would help in tackling further damages of fire disasters in the country, especially in areas difficult to access due to road traffic and crowd. Life and properties would be rescued from destruction almost immediately.”
The government of Nigeria also announced a partnership with Zipline and the regional government of Bayelsa State earlier this month for the establishment of drone-based medical delivery services in the region.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.