Let us prevent fires this harmattan season

Before and after the harmattan reared its head in Ghana, not much has been seen or heard by way of education and sensitisation on the best ways of preventing fire outbreaks.

We cannot lose sight of the fact that the harmattan period always portends danger so far as fires are concerned because the dry northeasterly winds easily carry any spark of fire and make it an inferno.

Statistics from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) indicate that a total of 3,783 cases of fire outbreaks were recorded in 2014 as against 4,171 cases recorded in 2013; representing a decrease of 388 cases.

The reduction, however, does not mean that we must rest on our oars, since we will be doing that at our own peril.

Already, a fire outbreak at the Muus sawmill and timber market at Taifa, a suburb of Accra, last Thursday, has sounded a strong warning with the reduction of a large portion of the market to ashes, resulting in losses worth millions of Ghana cedis.

Reports also indicate that over 100 heavy duty sawmilling machines worth between GH¢5,000 and GH¢50,000 were destroyed in the fire, suspected to have been caused by a gas explosion.

Every day in our homes, we use fire to cook food or burn rubbish we are not able to send to the dumpsite. People in the hospitality or catering business also depend a lot on fire to prepare meals for their patrons.

Some of our industries also use combustible materials, although they may not use fire directly. These materials such as chemicals and pharmaceuticals easily catch fire when they are exposed to too much heat.

We have not forgotten the fire that ravaged the Central Medical Stores in Tema last year, resulting in the loss of many drugs worth millions of Ghana cedis and other household fires that claimed the lives of people, including children.

Most of our farmers also use the slash and burn method to prepare their farms for another planting season and make fires to cook their food while on their farms.

Fortunately for us, not many people smoke cigarettes these days, but we cannot dispute the fact that some people smoke illegal substances that also require the use of lighters or fire and can cause fires, if they are not disposed of properly. Most homes now have and use gas stoves or cookers to cook meals and a little carelessness could result in catastrophic fires.

Since we cannot do away with the use of fires, even in times like this, everyone needs to be reminded of the precautionary measures for the prevention of disasters, as we have witnessed in the recent past.

That is why state organisations such as the GNFS, National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) and the Energy Commission have the mandate to ensure constant education and sensitisation of the public to the use of fire, especially during the dry harmattan season, and also the proper use of various energy sources to prevent any calamity.

We ask; what is happening to the GNFS and the NCCE? We believe that we do not have to wait until disasters start happening in chains before we look for solutions to the outbreak of fires and their prevention. Lives and property lost can never be replaced and the Taifa fire serves as a reminder to us.

While we ask the government to further retool the GNFS and other state institutions with the mandate to keep us alert at all times, we also urge those institutions to kick-start their education campaigns to save the public from harm, especially during the Christmas and the New Year festivities.