| Season of cold, dust
and fire
TESSY IGOMU writes on how to prevent fire incidents in the
harmattan
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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•Fire
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Every year, it announces its arrival with a dry, dusty air
that tends to choke both the human and the animal. As its
presence dominate the plains of West Africa from the Sahara
desert, lush, green vegetations and grassy savannah shrivel.
The harmattan season is here again, obscuring the horizon
and blotting out buildings in the cities and the hinterlands.
A thoroughly arid season when the skies are darkened with
cloudy grit, it is a time when dust is blustered across the
fields and many Nigerians in rural setting forced to huddle
around blazing logs to ward off the cold.
Even though the season gives Nigerians temporary reprieve
from the excruciating heat that torments them owing to epileptic
power supply, harmattan is usually accompanied by a hazardous
servant: fire.
Apart from several airborne diseases caused by faecal matters
and microbes carried by the cold, dry wind, fire outbreaks
are widespread. Fire disasters recorded during harmattan are
usually higher than those in any other season.
Fire outbreaks have remained a major man-made and naturally
induced disaster wreaking unquantifiable havoc on lives and
property globally. Harmattan influences the susceptibility
of areas to fire as the dry wind tends to increase the severity
of combustion.
The destructive clout associated with the last four months
of the year, usually referred to as the “ember”
months, within which the harmattan period falls can be changed,
if pre-emptive attitudes are adopted to avert fire disasters
rather than reactive.
Specifically, November to March of every year is usually disaster
prone with inferno making unwelcome visit to market places,
factories, homes and schools. Investigations have shown that
most fire outbreaks during the season are caused by careless
handling of highly inflammable materials by adult and children.
Also, the complacent attitude of people when handling items
susceptible to fire has resulted into losses running into
millions of naira.
Causes of fire outbreaks during the volatile season have been
traced to the hoarding of petrol in homes to beat shortages
and the use of fire-crackers by children. Bush burning, especially
in agrarian communities, has also been identified as a major
culprit as dry wind blows the fire out of control, spreading
it to settlements.
Before the Lagos State government clamped on gated streets,
forcing most residents to dismantle their gates permanently,
fire fighters always faced the Herculean task of gaining access
to sites of fire disasters. Often, before the gates were forced
open, the lifetime labour of many people would have been razed
to the ground.
Congestion has also been identified as another factor militating
against the success of combating fire. Tejusoho market, before
it was gutted by fire, was densely congested. There was scanty
space for buyers to move around to make purchases. As at the
time sparks were sighted in the market, there was no room
for the fire fighting vehicles to move in and douse the fire.
The great impediment contributed largely to the total destruction
of the market in the inferno that lasted hours.
Fire disasters strike everyday in Nigeria but combating them
has been a major challenge for fire fighters. Each fire outbreak,
especially during this critical period exposes Nigeria’s
poor state of preparedness for prevention, control and management.
In the opinion of many, the scorecard of Nigeria’s fire
fighters at this time is dismal.
One major contributor to the spread of fire during harmattan
season is the ill-equipped state and federal fire services.
Starved of funds and left with obsolete machines in their
fire stations scattered across the nation, fire fighters,
like the victims, lack the wherewithal to prevent the spread
of harmattan fire.
The neglect of the fire service over the years has resulted
in economic losses running into billions of naira.
Experts and Nigerians have been suggesting ways of preventing
fire outbreaks in the country.
Paying attention to the needs of the fire service by providing
them with modern fire-fighting equipment and periodical trainings
would encourage prompt response to emergencies and reduce
losses, it has been suggested.
Budget allocated to the fire service should also be increased
and reflected on personnel’s hazard allowance. Sufficient
awareness should be created to instil culture of safety in
Nigerians. Public enlightenment efforts should be intensified
to educate people on the dos and don’ts of harmattan
period.
Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Mr. Adedayo Aderemi Ajose,
said in an interview with the Daily Sun that though the outfit
has been modified to respond promptly to fire incidents, the
best approach to fight fire is prevention.
“Caution is the watchword,” he insisted. “The
Lagos State Fire Service is fully equipped with modern fire-fighting
equipment to cope with emergencies. We have fire vehicles
with a 10,000-litre water installed capacity. Sixty fire vehicles
and five new rapid intervention fire vehicles are part of
the efforts put in place by the Lagos State government to
make the response to fire incidents prompt and effective.
Training of officials has also become a key part of our policy.”
He advised Lagosians to be safety conscious by being viable
agents in the exercise to ensure a fire-free environment.
Giving useful tips on how to safeguard against fire outbreaks,
he said: “Fire accidents can happen through arson, accident
or by carelessness. People have to be safety conscious by
ensuring that they switch off all electrical appliances and
points in their homes before they go out and in their offices
when they close for the day. For those using generators, because
of the shortcomings of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria
(PHCN) in power supply, they should ensure their
generators are not refueled while working.
“Also, people should ensure that their gas cylinders
are not put in the kitchen. It must be placed outside, far
from the heat in the kitchen. People should avoid smoking,
while lying down. Care must be taken to avoid overloading
electrical sockets. If you plug your DVD and television and
you still plug your refrigerator in the same place, it is
risky and can cause a fire outbreak. Very importantly, children
should not be allowed to play with matches or naked light.”
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