Abstract
Fire outbreak is the leading cause of lives and properties loss in Nigerian markets. In order to reduce this problem, a study was conducted on Wuse market of the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria with the aim of determining the active protection measures against fire in the market, in order to generate guidelines that can reduce the occurrences of fire outbreaks in Nigerian markets. Systematic sampling method was applied at every 5th interval of sales points for the purpose of getting the sample size for this study; this led to the selection of 419 sales points out of the 2,091 sales points in the market. The instruments that were used to collect the primary research data are questionnaires, focus group discussions, interview questions, discussions and direct observation schedule. The secondary research data were obtained from the reviews of the relevant literature on fire outbreaks in markets and other public buildings; other fire related issues in and outside Nigeria. Among the research findings are: the use of substandard fire extinguishers causes rapid spread of fires in the market; there are buildings in the market without front verandahs or corridors for mounting fire protection devices on their walls. Among the recommended guidelines are: the government of Nigeria should ban the use of substandard fire extinguishers in markets; floors of the lock-up shops in markets must be designed to have front verandahs/corridors and their inner walls should be appropriately used as the locations where the required wall mountable fire protection devices shall be fixed upon.
Highlights
Markets are public places where people meet for business transactions; they are where almost all the basic needs of people are sold in retails and wholesales [1,2]
Active protection measures against fire were determined with respect to the issues associated with the firefighting equipment in the market based on the data from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Markets Operating Bodies in conjunction with observations
Having considered the problem of fire outbreaks in Nigerian markets in relation to the importance of markets as they contribute to the generation of local revenue, create employment, provide household incomes and support human resource development by providing for and educating the children or other family relatives of the sales people
Summary
Markets are public places where people meet for business transactions; they are where almost all the basic needs of people are sold in retails and wholesales [1,2]. Active protection measures against fire in markets is very important for the sales people and other users of markets, especially in Nigeria where there are cases of fire outbreaks. In this context, active protection measures against fire is the readiness to fight fire with the fire protection devices when it breaks out in markets. Protection measures for disasters such as fire outbreaks can be enhanced by educating people and improving the preventive mechanisms [7]. It remains the leading cause of lives and properties loss in Nigerian markets
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