Fight or flight?
What is fire?
A simple question, yet not so simple to define.
Fire is a process. It survives on three elements: heat, oxygen, and fuel. Remove one, and it dies. This is the basic science. But in real life, fire is rarely just science; it is disruption, loss, and sometimes tragedy.
So far in 2026, between January till date, several fire incidents have been reported across Nigeria. Businesses have been reduced to ashes. Goods worth billions of naira have been lost. Sadly, many of these assets are most likely uninsured, making recovery even more difficult for affected families and business owners.
We often assume emergency services will respond immediately. While we are making improvements, response time is not always in our control. That raises an important question: before external responders arrive, how prepared are we?
No one is ever truly ready for a fire outbreak. During drills, we sometimes see people casually walking toward muster points. But if it were a real emergency, panic would likely replace calm. Instinct takes over. And instinct is rarely structured.
Many people do not know the different classes of fire. They do not know which extinguisher to use. They are unaware that smoke inhalation, not flames, is the leading cause of fire-related deaths. Fire burns. Smoke suffocates. Preparedness is not automatic; it is intentional.
In many of our markets and commercial spaces, shops are tightly clustered together, access routes are narrow, and electrical systems are often overloaded. In such environments, a small spark can escalate rapidly. While some losses may be unavoidable, many are preventable with the right systems in place.
When a fire breaks out, our first instinct is usually fight or flight, and in most cases, we choose flight. And that is human. Everyone values their life.
But the difference between chaos and control is preparation.
Would you rather be running in confusion or responding with structure because your systems are already in place?
If your organisation has not conducted a structured fire readiness assessment or practical response training in the last 12 months, this is your signal.
Preparation is a decision!
