Firefighters attacked by angry Osun residents over late response

Femi Akinjobi, the State Controller of the Federal Fire Service in Osun State, has decried the mistreatment of his personnel while attempting to extinguish a fire in a blazing truck in Osogbo, the state capital.

On Thursday, there was chaos in the Old Garage Area of Osun State’s capital when a vehicle was discovered burning near the MDS Road, prompting residents to flee in various directions in search of fire extinguishers and water to put out the flames.

Tempers rose, however, when Federal Fire Service operatives arrived on the scene and were about to disembark from their truck after the fire was extinguished.

After flinging stones at the firefighters, some angry onlookers threatened to pounce on them if they stopped at the scene.

In response, Akinjobi, who witnessed the incident, stated that the mob misdirected their anger and that he dispatched operatives to the scene as soon as he received the distress call.

Further condemning the attack on his guys, Akinjobi stated that the police officers there did not prevent the mob from releasing their rage on the firemen stationed at the spot.

“We got information from the State Fire Service, and immediately, we moved to the scene. We ran into a gridlock on the road.

The people concerned did not call us. It was an official of the state Fire Service who called my men.

“I followed my men with my private vehicle. Immediately we got there, the hoodlums started throwing stones at my men. My men quickly left the scene. They could not work there. There was no damage to our appliances. Police operatives were at the scene, and they could not do anything. That was the most painful part,” Akinjobi said.

However, while responding to the allegations, the spokesperson for the Osun Police Command, Abiodun Ojelabi, said operatives at the scene prevented the firemen from attack.

“The vehicle caught fire. We don’t know how it happened, and the police responded immediately by calling the fire service. The fire service was delayed in coming. We have both state and federal fire services. So, the fire service they called is the state fire service, but they gave excuses.

“The Federal Fire Service men were on their way; even people who witnessed the incident were already angry that they called the fire service but got no quick response. So, when people saw the Federal Fire Service, not that they were attacked, people shouted at them.

“That made them leave the scene. If they had remained there, something else might have happened. So, they did not even stop to put out the fire, for fear of people starting to attack them.

“As at that point when they came, the fire had already been put out, though not completely,” Ojelabi said.