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Mrs Matilda Amissah-Arthur.
Mrs Matilda Amissah-Arthur.

We, too, can’t afford to take chances!

The launch recently of a ‘Home Fire Safety Campaign’ by the Fire Service brought back the memory of a day some years ago when I experienced at first-hand the impressive diligence of the London Fire Brigade.

I was then living in the leafy London suburb of West Norwood with my family, in a semi-detached estate house. It was a Saturday morning and I was busy cooking when the smoke alarm/ smoke detector in the dining area next to the kitchen went off yet again. The battery-operated alarm fixed to the ceiling had been beeping on and off although there was no fire to cause it to give an alert.

However, just to be on the safe side, I decided to ask for advice, what should be done in such a situation. So I rang the nearby West Norwood Fire Station, which I passed every day on my way to work or into town by bus or returning home, but whose services I had never thought I would ever need.  

The phone was answered immediately and I explained the problem to the woman who took the call. I stressed that there was no fire and the beeping had stopped but I wanted guidance. She asked for my name and address, and told me not to worry because it wasn’t an unusual occurrence, I should just change it. I thanked her, hung up and went on with my cooking. 

When a few minutes later I heard the sound of a fire engine siren, I hardly paid attention, wondering which poor soul’s house was on fire. Even when the siren seemed to be coming closer and closer to our street I thought nothing of it. I didn’t relate the siren to my call to the fire station.

Then I heard the brisk sound of boots on our driveway. The doorbell rang and when I opened it, a number of uniformed men stood there. They introduced themselves as fire fighters from the West Norwood Station and they had come in response to a call about a smoke alarm! 

 “But there’s no fire,” I told the team leader, “and, besides, I explained that when I rang. I just wanted advice on what to do. I didn’t want to waste your time.”

He replied: “Yes, she told us but we wanted to be sure; we don’t take chances.”

Almost dumbfounded I showed them where the gadget was and they checked it, as well as another one upstairs.   

I marvelled that they had come to check in order to be sure that there was no risk of a fire; and they had come prepared, in a fire engine, siren on, just in case!

Having assured me that the smoke detector just needed to be changed, they left, leaving me with an abiding admiration for the efficiency of London fire fighters. And the crisp explanation of the team leader, almost a motto, has stayed in my mind: “We don’t take chances”. 

But taking chances is what we seem to do a lot of in this country.

I guess that is what the wife of the Vice-President, Mrs Matilda Amissah-Arthur, was referring to when she launched the Home Fire Safety Campaign in Accra on August 4. 

The Daily Graphic on August 5 quoted her as citing the examples of candles left unattended, the improper handling of electrical gadgets and the engagement of unqualified electricians as some of the major causes of domestic fires. 

According to Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) statistics, of the 24,500 fires that occurred in Ghana during the last four years, more than 40 per cent were domestic fires, “the most dangerous, which claim a lot of lives”, the Daily Guide, too, reported. More than 180 lives were lost in that period, not to mention the cost of properties destroyed.

The Chief Fire Officer, Dr Albert Brown Gaisie, explained the campaign strategy: it will be piloted in Accra and Tema and afterwards the scheme will be replicated in other parts of the country.

As part of the pilot, GNFS personnel will go round to educate occupants of houses on fire prevention and what to do when there is a fire outbreak.

Equally important, they will install early warning equipment, such as smoke alarms and fire extinguishers in homes. 

I see the Home Fire Safety initiative by the GNFS as one of the most important, proactive measures by any state institution in recent times.    

But this being Ghana, there is no guarantee of sustainability, of continuity. There are plenty of examples of other programmes announced with much fanfare, but which seemingly fade away after the launch. They are announced with much publicity and then when people’s interest and expectation are aroused, nothing more is heard about them.

This is probably why the importance of this singular initiative of the GNFS is not being highlighted as much as it should be, considering the threat fires pose to all of us. Also, a recent, terrifying dimension emerging is the danger posed by anti-burglary devices in homes, because they have prevented the escape of some fire victims. 

It would be a great pity if the Home Fire Safety project should end up like, for examples, the initiatives to encourage the use of energy-saving light bulbs, and insecticide-treated mosquito nets. There was supposed to be widespread distribution of those two free items, or at least that is what the publicity indicated. Yet, somehow, they apparently ended up benefitting only a few communities, and for a limited period. 

And although the items were supposed to be free, according to reports, some of the distributing agents still found a way to make some beneficiaries part with money.

There is need to ensure that such schemes last and that the staff are committed. 

Years after the incident, I still remember the West Norwood Fire Station team leader’s statement: “We don’t take chances”.

Bearing in mind another serious concern, the recurrent fire outbreaks in our markets, teaching fire prevention and safety has to be a national priority and the GNFS should have sustained assistance for this worthy endeavour. We, too, shouldn’t take chances.

 

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