Ebby-Tek Services Limited, partner of Johnson Controls, is pushing new fire suppression technology to industries across Nigeria as global legislation phases out fluorinated foams.
Iyke Amanfo, chief executive officer of Ebby-Tek Services Ltd., on Thursday at a technical session in Lagos on the latest advancements in fire protection technologies and solutions, said the fire industry is changing and companies need updates on new firefighting developments, especially in the foam industry.
“We need to update our colleagues in the companies and fire teams across Nigeria, the gas and oil businesses, concerning the new developments,” he said.
The focus is the transition from Aqueous Film-Forming Foam, or AFFF, to non-fluorinated foams, he noted, adding that governments worldwide are phasing out fluorinated foams due to concerns over PFAS and global warming.
Amanfo said Nigeria, like most African countries, is behind in the latest fire technology, but must first understand before catching up. “Knowledge transfer is the first step toward a longer-term plan to establish a local foam production plant in Nigeria.”
The session drew participants from oil and gas companies, manufacturing, and Lagos State fire officials. Amanfo said fire is everywhere — in banks, markets, stores, and oil installations.
“Bringing Johnson Controls into Nigeria — you could see from the questions that people are having different challenges in their different industries, and they never knew there were solutions,” he said.
Femi Moraino, a representative of Ebby-Tek and Johnson Controls, said the industry must move away from a one-solution-fits-all approach to fire safety.
“You can’t have just one solution to fit all. It has to be unique in terms of what happens in the kitchen,” Moraino said.
“What you need in your kitchen is supposed to be different from what you need in your car; what you need in your car will be different from what you need if you have an electric car.”
He said using water on an electrical fire creates more problems, and oil fires require a different suppression method. The misconception extends to new risks, including CNG vehicles.
“We have CNG vehicles on the road today. What people recommend is that you must have a fire extinguisher. A fire extinguisher for CNG is different from that of petrol, is different from that of diesel,” he said.
Moraino said Ebby-Tek intends to move the conversation beyond the room, engaging more sectors on social platforms and through direct fora.
“We’re not just doing this to close today; we’re opening a new chapter in the life of the organization,” he said. “Nobody can actually blow your trumpet more than you.”
On the scale of losses, he said Nigeria lacks good records, but the pattern of repeat fires shows lessons are not being learned.
“The sad thing is having the same fire occur in the same way over a period of time. So, it means we’re not learning,” Moraino said.
Amanfo said greater awareness will drive changes in action and reduce incidents, including adoption of automated suppression systems that can detect heat and sparks while people are sleeping.
“You start looking at automated ways of extinguishing fires. How do we make sure that while people are sleeping, there’s something somewhere that’s watching out for any spark,” he said.
Amanfo said the value of losses is huge, covering not just equipment but entire properties, though precise statistics are unavailable. Insurers bear high costs.
He said Ebby-Tek will not be just a last-mile seller but will showcase value and tailor solutions by sector, including market associations beyond Lagos State government.
“When we start having a situation where the government is also interested, superimposing it on people to actually do the right thing, that becomes then for us to be able to go better,” he said.
Josephine Okojie-Okeiyi is a journalist with over five years’ reporting experience. She writes on industry, agriculture, commodities, climate change, and environmental issues. She is fellow of Thomson Reuters Foundation and Bloomberg Media Initiative for Africa.
