The Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Services (ARFFS) of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) recently conducted a fire simulation and prevention exercise for the FAAN workers and other stakeholders operating at the Domestic Terminal 1 of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, to prepare them for fire emergencies at the airport.
Similarly, transportation between the local and international terminal of Murtala Muhammed Airport Lagos, recently received a boost with the deployment of four shuttle bus to ply the route by FAAN in partnership with Skyplus Contracts and Logistic Limited.
The fire simulation and prevention exercise which was led by Mrs. Dorothy Egwu, the terminal’s fire officer, was also designed to ensure that fire safety standards are regularly maintained within the terminal.
Egwu emphasized that fire safety was based on the principle of keeping fuel sources and ignition sources separate.
She said that oxygen, heat and fuel, which are combustive materials, work together to produce the chemical reaction that result in fire and stressed that the three components must be removed for fire to be extinguished.
She explained that the three common types of fire extinguishers were water, carbon dioxide and dry chemical powder extinguishers, adding that fire had four categories namely category A, which is for solids that are not metals e.g. paper and wood.
“This category” she said “could be extinguished with air pressurized water and dry chemical powder. Category B, fire is for flammable liquids such as gasoline while category C is for energized electrical equipment. These two groups, she said could be extinguished with carbon dioxide and dry chemical powder. Category D fire which is for metals such as potassium and aluminium, she said, required special extinguishing agent”.
While demonstrating how to use the fire extinguisher, Mrs. Egwu enjoined all participants to remember the acronym PASS which means – Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the top handle, Sweep from side to side until the fire is completely out.
Mrs. Dorothy Egwu advised that in the event of a fire, people should leave the building through the nearest exit and assist any person in immediate danger to safety without risking their own lives.
Furthermore, Mr. Yakubu Dati, coordinating general manager (Aviation Parastatals), also said that the 30-seater shuttle buses were deployed by FAAN in partnership with Skyplus Contracts and Logistic Limited.
Dati quoted Mr. Tayo Adewakun, FAAN’s general manager commercial, who unveiled the buses on September 1, 2014, at the car park of MMA’s Domestic Terminal 1, saying the deployment of the vehicles was not to compete with regular car hire operators but to ease the movement of transit passengers from domestic to international terminals and vice versa.
Accompanied by other commercial staff of the Authority, Adewakun disclosed that the buses would pick passengers from DT1 and drop them at MM2 and international wing without stopping on the road.
He added that the shuttle bus would not pick any passenger on the road but at DT1 and MMIA. The buses would only drop passengers at MM2.
Speaking during the launching of the shuttle bus, Mrs Shobayo, managing director of Skyplus Contract and Logistics, said she was motivated into partnering with FAAN because of her experience as a frequent flyer.
Shobayo noted that the deployment of the shuttle buses would bridge the gap between the local and international airport terminals, adding that getting a drop for passengers on transit was always risky.
She commended FAAN’s management for the accelerated approval given to her company for the shuttle service.
The shuttle buses are fully air-conditioned with enough room legs for the comfort of passengers. They also have luggage compartments where passengers’ luggage could be accommodated.