Lagos State has rolled out a flashy new Fire Marshal Club and a highly publicised Safety Walk, selling it as a bold step toward fire prevention and emergency readiness. Cameras rolled, officials marched, and slogans flew , all to convince residents that the government is finally serious about safety.

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service is pitching the initiative as a game-changer that will take fire safety “beyond the fire stations” and into markets, business districts and neighbourhoods. The plan is to rely on volunteers as first responders and safety advocates, effectively turning ordinary residents into unpaid extensions of the fire service.

The awareness walk itself was a full-on public spectacle. Participants moved from the Service Headquarters in Alausa, Ikeja, through the busy Ikeja Fire Station corridor and back again, engaging residents and business owners with quick-fire tips on fire precautions, electrical safety and early reporting of emergencies. It looked good on the streets and even better on camera.

Controller General of the Service, Margaret Adeseye, used the event to paint a mixed picture. She admitted Lagos still records worrying levels of fire incidents but quickly pointed to a “modest decline” in recent figures, crediting public awareness. At the same time, she warned that complacency would be dangerous in a state packed with people and businesses , a familiar warning that rarely comes with hard accountability.

Adeseye also branded the Fire Marshal system as a “globally recognised” volunteer model, suggesting Lagos is simply catching up with international best practice. By planting Fire Marshal Clubs in markets, commercial hubs and residential areas, the state says it wants a network of trained citizens who can spot risks early, guide evacuations and support professional responders. In other words, the public is being drafted to fill gaps the formal system has long struggled to cover.

According to the plan, members of the new club will receive structured training in fire prevention, safe evacuation, first aid and communication protocols. On paper, that turns them into mini-emergency officers, expected to act swiftly during crises and push safer behaviour in their communities. Whether this training will be rigorous or just another checkbox exercise remains to be seen.

General Manager of the Lagos State Command and Control Centre, Femi Giwa, framed the Fire Marshals as vital connectors between neighbourhoods and emergency services. With toll-free emergency numbers and “clear reporting channels,” he promised faster response times and better-managed incidents. It is a familiar promise in a city where residents routinely complain about slow or nonexistent emergency response.

Fire safety expert and health and safety advocate, Julius Agbo, lined up behind the government narrative, calling the programme a strategic support system. He cited research claiming that about 95 per cent of fire incidents are caused by unsafe human actions, using that figure to argue that public education and behaviour change are just as important as equipment and infrastructure. The message: the public is largely to blame, and the public must fix it.

For its part, the state government is packaging the Fire Marshal Club and the Safety Walk as proof of a broader commitment to protecting lives and property through prevention, partnership and a “community-driven” emergency response framework. Critics, however, may see it as another high-visibility initiative heavy on symbolism and light on the deeper structural reforms needed to truly keep Lagos safe.