Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THERE has been an alarming increase in cases of fire that have been reported and attended to with the Bulawayo Fire Brigade saying they have received 46 fire incidents in the past two weeks against a “normal” figure of at most 10 cases in the same period.
Bulawayo City Council Acting Chief Fire Officer Mr Linos Phiri said the surge in cases of fire resulted in one fatality, saying a daily average of three calls was abnormally high.
He said the bigger chunk of cases were caused by overgrown grass and urged people to cut or trim it especially where it was close to their properties while also warning residents to avoid carelessly discarding lit material.
“From 2 to 15 June we recorded four property types of fire with one being an electric cooker left on, the other being a lit candle left unattended, the other being carelessly discarded lit material while the last is unknown. We attended to three vehicle fires where two were caused by electrical faults and the other being grass fire. We had four rubbish cases caused by deliberate burning and 34 cases of grass type of fire. We recorded one False Alarm with Good Intent (FAGI) as a pressure cooker was left on. The total number of calls attended from 2 to 15 June was 46,” said Mr Phiri.
He said 76 percent of the fires were caused by carelessly discarded lit material while 74 percent of the calls attended were grass fires. Three were injured at grass fires while there was one fatality at a house fire. With 34 of the 46 fire cases being grass fires, the city’s fire department said the major causes of bush fires include lighting fires at road servitudes, careless disposal of lit cigarette stubs by the public including motorists, smoking out of bees, deliberate fire setting (arson). The other major causes of bush fires include children playing with matches, using fires to open up or clear arable land as well as camp fires left un- extinguished.
“Common causes of fire in the community include faulty electrical appliances, children playing with matches or other forms of fire, hoarding of fuel in the home, irons, stoves and or cooking fires left ‘on,’ candles or paraffin lamps left unattended, careless smoking, homemade wax polish, trees coming into contact with electric cables, lightning, sparks from bush, rubbish fires, deliberate fire setting, arson as well as smoking out of bees,” said Mr Phiri.
He urged communities to make fire guards to protect their properties from bush fires.
“Construct fireguards to control bush fires, slash the fireguard and keep it clear of any vegetation. If advised to evacuate, do so immediately, choose a route away from the fire hazard. Watch for changes in the speed and direction of the fire and smoke. Beat the fire using beaters, tree branches or wet sacks and douse the flame with water,” said Mr Phiri.
He said when calling for Fire and Ambulance Services residents should give the address or location of an incident, identify themselves, reveal what is involved (property on fire, person in need of an ambulance, road traffic accident, etc) as well as informing them of the nearest common landmark, like shops or school. Latest council minutes reveal that there is an exodus of firefighters at the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) where they are either joining other professions or leaving the country in search of the so-called greener pastures. The minutes also noted that BCC’s fire department has been hit by a shortage of life- saving equipment such as breathing apparatus, lamps and emergency lighting generators. @nyeve14