Mr Benedict Ofoma, the Director of Anambra State Fire Service, said property worth N966 million was destroyed by fire in the state in 2016.
Ofoma who spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Awka, also said that property worth N7 billion was saved during the period.
“The establishment also received 117 distress calls from factories and residential buildings, with no loss of life,’’ Ofoma said.
Ofoma said that inadequate water supply, shortage of personnel and vehicles were hampering effective operation of the service.
According to him, the service operates currently with only eight functional Mercedes trucks.
He said the service was also operating with only 100 personnel across the state, adding that effective service delivery would require about 400 personnel.
“Personnel is our major problem but we have already demanded more 200 hands for efficient service delivery,’’ Ofoma said.
He commended the state government for its support to the establishment so far and appealed for more encouragement. (NAN)