Property owners must obey fire regulations

Fire, just like electricity, can be a very good servant if the rules governing its use are observed.

Our very existence on earth will not be complete without fire, but its misapplication has caused untold hardships to people, not to talk about loss of lives.

When we talk about the devastating effects of fire, no one can forget the June 3, 2015 fire and flood disaster that claimed more than 150 lives.

That tragedy will remain a dark spot in our national history for years to come.

Before that, fire had destroyed many landmarks — monuments such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, the Kantamanto Market, the Mallam Market, the Kumasi Central Market, other trading posts and offices as well as residential buildings across the country, not forgetting the Central Medical Stores in Tema.

During the dry season from about November last year to February, it was difficult to rule out fire outbreaks, especially bush fires, because the vegetation was dry.

We are happy the bush fires that threatened not only lives but also commercial activities such as farming have abated with the onset of the rains.

Unfortunately, domestic and industrial fires pose a greater threat to our economy.

We have said time and again that our inability to determine the causes of these fires makes it difficult to devise strategies to avert their recurrence.

When the fires occur, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS)  announces plans for investigations but nothing concrete comes out of those probes to serve as a blueprint to prevent the fire menace.

Post any fire disaster and the GNFS is quick to announce, as part of its strategic plans, investigations to get to the bottom of the cause of the inferno.

When we are lucky, the nation is told about the cause of the fire, but even when people have been negligent, no action is taken against them.

Last Thursday night, fire gutted the popular Vienna City nightclub, virtually reducing it to rubble.

And, as is to be expected, the GNFS has begun investigations into the circumstances that led to the fire outbreak.

It says preliminary investigations have revealed that the fire extinguishers in the nightclub had not been serviced for some time before the Thursday fire.

“It appears the extinguishers were not serviceable. They were overdue for servicing,” an Assistant Chief Fire Officer of the GNFS, Mr Ebenezer Simpson, said.

The rules are very clear as to what property owners are required to do to safeguard their property in case of fire.

These regulations spelling out fire safety standards that must be followed by developers and property owners also mandate the GNFS to punish those who flout the rules.

Unfortunately, this is never done after the hue and cry that greet national disasters, including the June 3, 2015 fire and flood tragedy.

The Daily Graphic expects the GNFS to drag the owners of Vienna City to court for operating the facility without functional fire extinguishers.

The rules are clear and the GNFS requires no tutelage over its mandate: It must apply the law to convince the people that it has the teeth to bite and that the time for barking is over.

We commiserate with the owners of Vienna City and those who were injured, but if the axe must fall on the owners for flouting the rules, it must, at least, to serve as a deterrent to others.