The Federal Fire Service (FFS) saved 2,106 lives and N934.70 billion worth of property in fire incidents across Nigeria in 2025.
The FFS Deputy Controller-General in charge of Policy, Planning, Research and Statistics, Mrs Ijeoma Achi-Okidi, disclosed this to journalists.
She said that during the year under review, the service recorded 1,866 fire incidents, resulting in 114 deaths, while 198 citizens and five firefighters sustained injuries.
According to her, the total estimated property loss stood at about N74.75 billion, indicating that the FFS successfully protected approximately 92.59 per cent of the total value at risk.
A breakdown of fire outbreaks by premises type showed 693 cases in private residences, followed by public buildings with 444 cases. Markets and trading centres recorded 190 fires, vehicles and automobiles accounted for 177 incidents, while other types of premises recorded 105 cases. The service said 39 persons died in market and trading centre fires, 22 in automobile-related incidents, 18 in public and government office fires, 10 in bank-related fires, while another 10 died in other fire incidents.
The report noted: “Deaths from market infernos accounted for over a third of all fatalities, likely due to high occupancy and rapid fire spread in crowded trading environments.”
It further revealed that market fires resulted in property losses valued at N22.27 billion, followed by private residences at N14.67 billion; public and government buildings at N11 billion; educational institutions at N8.16 billion; and fuel and gas stations at N4.92 billion.
The report also indicated that electrical-related issues, including power surges, overloads and wiring faults, were the leading causes of fire incidents in 2025, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of all fires recorded during the year.
The guardian
