2019 National Council On Fire Conference Declared open by Governor Abudurlahman Abdulrazaq.

The National Council On Fire Conference holding in Ilorin, Kwara State was declared open on Monday by the Governor of Kwara State, His Excellency, Abudulrahman Abdulrazaq.The Governor who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Kwara State Ministry of Works and Transport, Dr. Yusuf Garba Manjo thanked the National Council on Fire for choosing Kwara as the venue of the  10th edition of the National Council on Fire Conference. The Governor stressed that the Conference will help in strengthening effective service delivery in the Fire sector.He used the opportunity to appeal to citizens and relevant stakeholders to cooperate with the Nigerian Fire Service to ensure enhancement of better service delivery and viable safety network in order to reduce the loss of lives and property.Governor Abdulrazaq acknowledged the fact that fire has destroyed properties worth billions. ” in recent years, fire has destroyed both government and private properties and other socio- economic activities in different parts of the country. Kwara State is not exempted from this sad and ugly occurrences” the Governor said. He then called on Fire Services at all levels to embark on more publicity in order to create fire safety awareness.
The Controller General, Federal Fire Service, Liman Ibrahim MIFireE while delivering his welcome address said the importance of the Fire Conference can not be overemphasized. In his word ” The impact of the National Council on Fire Conference as a priceless asset in the fight to curb the spate of uncontrolled fires in our nation cannot be overemphasized”. The CG said “the theme of this year’s conference “TECHNOLOGY: AN IMPERATIVE FOR ENHANCED SERVICE DELIVERY IN THE FIRE SECTOR” is affirmative of the the key role technology plays in our lives. Their is no sphere of human existence, not been touched by technology, both positively and otherwise. Technology remains the most visible indices of global change in human advancement. Through out the ages, technology has continued to evidence the bid of the human race to have dominion over the earth and even beyond the earth”.  He went further to acknowledge that the ever evolving and increasing threats to lives, property and the environment continues to expand the load and strain the capacity to respond effectively,  hence the importance of the employment of technology to enhance  the level of preparedness for effective fire fighting. 
The Controller General emphasized that the role of the Fire Service is beyond firefighting ” Our daily schedule is no longer restricted to fire in building alone; it now includes responding to incident of collapsed building, both occupied and under construction. Flood disaster and other natural and man made disaster have also taken centre stage in our sphere of influence as fire and rescue service providers.”
He also used the opportunity to appeal to Kwara State Government to intervene in the challenges faced by Kwara State Fire Service who he said are in dire straits. The CG called on the Governor to take a clue  from the transformation the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has brought to the Federal Fire Service, while urging all Fire Services to intensify efforts in keeping the nation free from uncontrolled fires and other unsafe acts by embracing technology  as a means of modern firefighting.