CARNIVAL CALABAR 2019: FIRE SERVICE SAFETY MEASURES IN PLACE AS FIRST DRY RUN SET TO ROLL
The Cross River State government has introduced fire fighting mechanism and safety measures to forestall destruction and guarantee the safety of lives and property during the 2019 Carnival Calabar, as preparations are in top gear for the first Dry Run of the global fiesta scheduled for Sunday October 20, 2019.
With an ever increasing global audience due to the steady growth of the month-long festival billed as “Africa’s Biggest Street Party,” Carnival Calabar has come a long way since 2004 when it was inaugurated and the need to improve on safety and safety-consciousness becomes increasingly crucial. This was pointed out by the International Consultant to the event, Mr Ikechi Uko who made it known during a recce and mapping up of the carnival routes on Saturday.
Citing recent fire disaster in Lagos and Onitsha, Ikechi Uko said there is a need for preparedness for control and the prevention of unexpected fire outbreak.
“Carnival Calabar has become a household name globally and our desire to introduce fire service is not restricted to fires in buildings alone, it includes safety to incidences, flood disasters as well as other natural and man-made disasters.
“Again that will include fire service in Carnival Calabar Safety apparatus shown that we are complying with the international best practices on Safety and Disaster management” he said.
Chairman of Cross River State Carnival Commission, Mr Gabe Onah said the awareness of the new development of fire service operating in full swing in the Carnival activities will commence immediately.
He used the opportunity to called on the Fire Service to partner the Commission on awareness campaigns to emphasize fire safety measures before, during and after the Carnival.
The Director of Cross River State fire service, Mr Don Ugbe who was part of the stakeholders meeting assured the readiness of his officers and men on enforcement, public enlightenment programmes and impact reduction during the exercise.
