POULSBO — Targhee Fire Services, LLC, of Poulsbo has been awarded a contract to provide firefighter training and leadership development in the State of Lagos in Nigeria.

The $15.7 million first phase of the multi-year Lagos Fire Safety Initiative, a public/private partnership between Lagos and Wisconsin-based fire apparatus manufacturer W.S. Darley, received loan approval this week by the United States Export-Import Bank.

Targhee, led by Edward S. Wright of Poulsbo, is a member company of the African Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest in Seattle.

“The African chamber played an invaluable role in our ability to provide these services in Africa,” Wright said. “They helped us understand Africa and develop the expertise and capacity to do business there by facilitating partnerships with businesses and governments on the continent. This is a dynamic, growing market with many opportunities, but one that demands an understanding of its cultures, politics and people.”

Wright traveled to Africa as a member of the chamber’s 2008 trade mission. With chamber assistance, Targhee partnered with the mayor of the City of Mubende, Uganda to build firefighting and emergency medical services and provide maintenance and operation training.

The Lagos Fire Safety Initiative will ultimately expand to include the state’s 57 administrative districts. According to the chamber, training will be conducted to international fire service training and equipment standards and adapted to the unique emergency response needs of Lagos.