Fire: a good servant or a bad master?
My heart got heavier by the minute as I sat through a programme organised by TV3 in collaboration with some benevolent individuals and organisations to support the families of those who lost their lives in the June 3, 2015 twin disaster and surviving victoms. The disaster claimed close to 200 lives and the ceremony to offer the support was at a hotel in Accra.
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I was down-spirited when I saw the physical harm suffered by a young lady. She had sustained severe burns, which have disfigured her for the rest of her life.
The grief in the heart of a mother of four-year-old twins, who came to receive a package as part of the Victims Support Education Endowment Fund, was conspicuous.
Again, in December last year, I covered a programme at the Ministry of Communication Conference room where a United States (US)-based Ghanaian philanthropist presented some hampers to the victims of this disaster. I listened to them narrate the painful ordeal they went through that fateful day.
While I kept pondering over the plight of these people, a rhyme I had learnt in primary school popped up.
It goes like this: “The fire. I am the fire of good help. I am the fire who can do more harm. If you use me well, then I like you. But if you mishandle me, then I don’t like you. I am the fire; I am the fire.”
So, I ask, “Is fire a good servant or a bad master?”
Since man discovered the use of fire during the Stone Age period, it has given him warmth, protected him from attacks by wild animals and helped him to cook, and forge weapons for hunting and for defence among others.
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In modern times, fire has become an integral part of human life at the domestic, industrial and agricultural level. With the aid of modern technology, fire has been converted into other forms of energy to make life easier for man.
The electricity we enjoy, the air conditioners in the offices, the fridges that keep our consumables at a preferred temperature, and others you can think about, have been made possible through the help of fire.
Despite these and other benefits, its negative impact on the life of man cannot be overemphasised. Over the years, the country has been rocked by fire outbreaks that have left many people devastated.
For instance, since the beginning of this year, fire has left negative footprints at the Kumasi Market and Dagomba Line in Kumasi, Achimota Forest in Accra and other areas.
Many state institutions and agencies such as the former building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) have been gutted, with national assets and vital documents having been destroyed.
Figures
Statistics at the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) show that in 2014, the country recorded 4,712 fires, with 16,537,251 damages, while the figure as of the third quarter of 2015 was 3,982 with 790,751 damages.
A critical analysis of the figures indicate that more cases were recorded in the first quarter of the three successive years, accounting for an average of over 40 per cent of the total cases of fire outbreaks.
A further manipulation of the figures shows that the Greater Accra, Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions are the most endemic areas of fire outbreaks. The three regions recorded an average of 48.6 per cent of the fire outbreaks between 2013 and 2015.
The numerous fire outbreaks at the beginning of this year show that the country has not made much gain in containing the menace.
The GNFS has often cited faulty electrical appliances, illegal connections to electricity, use of substandard cables, and carelessness on the part of users of electricity such as failure to unplug gadgets before leaving home and overloading of circuits as the causes of domestic and industrial fires.
Wildfires, on the other hand, have always resulted from irresponsible activities by some groups of people, including farmers, palm wine tappers, hunters and cigarette smokers who fail to adhere to fire safety measures.
Is GNFS up to the task?
The Chief Fire Officer, Dr Albert Brown Gaisie, recently tasted the bitter side of a section of the public when he allegedly told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament that the GNFS needed power to halt the springing up of high-rise buildings which did not conform to fire safety regulations. Whether the fire chief erred in communicating his ideas or not, the fact remains that the country is handicapped in dealing with fire outbreaks in high-rise buildings.
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Currently, the GNFS has only 12 turntable ladders, one in each of the 11 administrative regions and at its headquarters. The equipment can only get to the sixth floor of any high rise building.
The inauguration of an all-female firefighting team last week shows the determination of the firefighters in the country to deal with cases of fire outbreak.
Way forward
The way forward to curbing the fire nuisance is for a deliberate investment in firefighting logistics and equipment, especially advanced turn-table ladders that will be able to reach higher heights to handle fire outbreaks in high-rise buildings.
Refresher courses must be organised for personnel of the GNFS to keep them abreast of modern firefighting techniques.
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Efforts must be made to take the education on fire safety and prevention measures to the doorstep of all, while stringent punitive measures ought to be put in place to deter people whose negligence leads to outbreaks of fire. The fight against fire outbreaks is a collective responsibility. Let us collaborate to win it.