Governor Babagana Umara Zulum on Sun­day paid a ‘thank you’ visit to headquarters of the Borno State Fire Service in Maiduguri.

The visit was in recognition of swift responses by firemen who quenched a major fire outbreak at Gamboru Market in Maiduguri, preventing de­struction from escalating to the magnitude witnessed two weeks ago at the Maiduguri Monday market.

Zulum told the firemen he was impressed with their gal­lantry and for that, he approved the release of N14.9 million as grants to about 149 firemen op­erating under both the federal and state fire services.

“I am here purposely to convey my deep appreciation to all of you for the great work you have been doing. Yesterday (Saturday) we had another fire disaster at Gamboru Market and I was informed of your efforts towards quenching the fire. This goes to show how com­mitted you are and we want to once again extend our appreci­ation to you,” Zulum said.

The beneficiaries comprised 60 firemen working with Borno State Government, 49 working with the Federal Fire Service as well as 38 volunteer-fire fighters.

Zulum directed that each of the 149 firemen be given N100,000 and a bag of rice, as part of appreciation from Bor­no State Government.

Meanwhile, Governor Zu­lum during his visit directed the employment of 38 volun­teer- firemen into the Borno State Fire Service as perma­nent staff.

The volunteers, 20 of them with the Maiduguri Interna­tional Hotel and 18 with Borno State Fire Service were offering supportive services without re­ceiving salaries to which per­manent staff are entitled.

The governor also direct­ed the management of Borno State Fire Service to immedi­ately send to his office all of their requirements that will en­sure the optimal performance of firemen in prevention and responses to fire incidents.

Zulum extended a similar gesture to the Federal Fire Ser­vice, asking them to submit requirements in order to get some intervention from the state government.