The Officer-in-Charge of Operations, Ebonyi State Fire Service Emergency Headquarters in Abakaliki, Mr Frank Otah, disclosed this in an interview with journalists.
He said, Ebonyi also lacks enough fire service personnel presently, leading to overwork-loads on his co-staff in the firefight in the state.
He commended Governor Francis Nwifuru for procuring the new fire trucks but insisted that more officers should be recruited to carry on their services effectively in the state.
"I appreciate His Excellency, Governor Francis Nwifuru, for procuring these fire trucks to facilitate our services, but there are some things we lack presently. We don't have enough hands - we need more personnel because, in the fire service, we work in three watches, that is in the morning, afternoon and night.
"When I was enrolled in the fire service, we used to have 15 personnel in a crew. We have in the administration department at least 4 officers, but right now, we don't have up to 4 officers on a watch, which is very bad.
"Before we go for what is called fire fighting, we call a crew, which is normally made up of 4 officers, with an operator and the head of the crew making them up to 6. But in a crew now, we have only 3 officers. It's very difficult for a crew made up of 3 officers to fight fire effectively.
"We have been telling the people concerned, which is the Ebonyi State government authorities, to recruit more officers to encourage us to discharge our duties diligently. If the government does that, it will increase our morale in service delivery.
"Another area we have a challenge is the issue of our welfare. When we entered this job early, there were what we called hazard allowances, but all those things are not paid to us now.
"If you see us fighting the fire, you can see us using the ordinary clutch, but normally, we have to be equipped because fighting fire is dangerous work.
As a fireman, he has to be equipped with a boot; the hair melts with protective eyeshades and clothes or garments.
"As you see me, if I tell you the kind of injuries I have sustained while fighting fire in this state - I have eye problems - lid cracks and shoulder breaks. I have been in the hospitals and doctors confirmed that these health challenges were caused by fire, but I'm managing them to work.
"It's not only me because about three of my co-workers are blind now. The reliable sources said it was a result of the shades they contacted while fighting fire.
"When I got the information, I rushed to the hospital to learn how I could manage my eyes to avoid becoming completely blind. Fire service work is very dangerous work if you are not wearing protective garments.
"If we had been given protective clothes or garments, all these injuries would have been avoided. These are some of the challenges we are calling government authorities to come to our aid," he said.
Otah further noted that the state fire service personnel had embarked on aggressive sensitization on preventive measures against fire outbreaks, saying, "This step resulted in a considerable reduction of fire disasters in 2024, unlike the year 2023 when fire incidence was at a high rate."
He equally urged the general public to always call for the intervention of the state fire service personnel for any fire outbreak in any part of the state, noting that the Ebonyi State Fire Service Emergency had shared its telephone number with people in every corner of the state, to avert ugly fire related incidence.
