By Babatunde Emmanuel

The University of Ibadan has held a fire safety training for hall personnel and students, aimed at equipping representatives from the halls of residence with theoretical and practical knowledge of fire safety to enable them to train other members of their respective halls.

The training held on Monday, September 28, 2026, at Trenchard Hall, University of Ibadan, marked a train-the-trainer workshop in anticipation of the implementation of cooking gas.

Delivering the welcome address, the Dean of Students, Professor Demola Lewis, appreciated the Vice-Chancellor for his consent and approval for the use of gas in the halls of residence.

He further appreciated the leadership of the Students’ Union for pacifying students when they demanded the use of gas.

“It has been long overdue, the need to lift the ban on the usage of gas in all halls of residence, and we are thankful to the Vice-Chancellor for graciously approving the request as soon as we presented it to him,” he said.

Speaking at the event, Dr Francis Ufiah, the facilitator of the training session themed “Basic Fire Prevention, Fire Extinguishers and Smoke Detectors,” explained the different classes of fire, methods of extinguishing them and other fire safety information students should be familiar with.

According to him, there are four classes of fire: Classes A, B, C and D, with each class requiring a different approach to extinguishing.

“If fire should occur, three basic elements must be present, which are heat, oxygen and fuel. They are known as the fire triangle, and fire can be extinguished by removing each of the components of the fire triangle to ensure that they don’t come together,” he said.

He also explained that the use of a fire extinguisher follows the acronym “PASS,” which stands for pull the safety pin, aim the nozzle, squeeze the handle and sweep the fire.

Also speaking at the event, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Kayode Adebowale, commended the hall wardens for their competence and dedication to the welfare of residents in the halls.

“This is one of the responsibilities I tried to evade throughout my career, even up till now, because looking at the challenges which wardens face, it really requires one’s head to be working,” he said.

He also noted that it was important for the wardens to be present because they are the first responders to issues that occur in the halls of residence.

Also present at the training were Professor Obiome Uche, the Deputy Dean; the Deputy Registrar, Student Affairs; and the Chief Safety Officer, Mr S. I. Oyekanmi.