LASEMA treats 100,000 calls daily – GM

The General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Mr Adesina Tiamiyu, yesterday said the agency receives no fewer than 100,000 emergency calls daily from residents in the state. Tiamiyu, who spoke with journalists in his office at Alausa, Ikeja, said LASEMA has continued to upgrade its technical and manpower capacity to respond […]

The General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Mr Adesina Tiamiyu, yesterday said the agency receives no fewer than 100,000 emergency calls daily from residents in the state.

Tiamiyu, who spoke with journalists in his office at Alausa, Ikeja, said LASEMA has continued to upgrade its technical and manpower capacity to respond to the numerous emergency situations on a daily basis.

According to him, since the upgrade of the Command and Control Centre in Alausa, the number of calls placed on the 767 and 112 emergency toll-free lines in the state had increased from 15,000 daily to about 80,000 to 100,000 across the state.

“The Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration has invested heavily in increasing the capacity of our agency to respond to emergency situations anywhere in the state. It is a huge task, but I can assure you we are capable of rising to the challenge and ensuring that we continue to respond to such disasters promptly,” he said.

The LASEMA boss disclosed that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has approved the decentralisation of the response centres from just one Response Unit in Alausa to three centres in Cappa in Oshodi; Lekki Ikoyi Link Bridge and Onipanu on Ikorodu Road.

Plans, he added, were underway to establish additional three upgraded dispatch centres in Ijanikin by Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Temu Junction Epe and LASPOTECH in Ikorodu, as well as a fourth conventional Response Unit at Costain to cover the Apapa axis and its environs.

He explained that the Lekki Response Unit was strategically located to facilitate quick response to emergencies on the waterways and for proximity to the riverine areas of Lekki and environs.

Tiamiyu said that to provide proper extrication equipment for timely rescue of trapped victims in any form of life-threatening emergencies, LASEMA, in February 2018, procured light rescue equipment that it distributed to all the dispatch centres.

“The procurement of BMW power bikes has also been launched for deployment at making on-spot reconnaissance assessment of incidents and also improving monitoring and surveillance.”