Fire safety in homes: dilemma
Protecting life and property in residential accommodation and offices is a difficult task. Security is said to be compromised when the balance of scale between fire safety and disasters swings in favour of disasters.
On the other hand, the safety of occupants on these premises is also endangered if too much attention is paid to security as against fire safety.
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Often in most facilities in Ghana, premium is placed on security. However, that is changing, with some now focusing on fire safety.
Dilemma
Armed robbery and fire disasters give an indication about the dilemma of the Ghanaian who is struggling to secure life and hard-earned assets.
Armed robbery and some of its results of death or injury weigh heavily on the minds of many.
For instance, a Ghanaian resident who visited Ghana on holidays from the United States was killed in his house in Accra by armed robbers (Rafak, 2002).
Ghanaweb.com reported on September 2, 2019, that the Takoradi Police Commander’s office was burgled and some valuables stolen.
Again, a gang of armed robbers went on a robbing spree at Ashaiman, robbing and terrorising residents in the community (Ghanaweb.com, August 2017). These are some of the reported cases.
To protect their lives and property from robbery, some have taken extensive security measures that have turned homes into cages, with occupants often restricted when it comes to moving in and out of their homes conveniently.
Problem
With excessive security measures, including the mounting of physical security infrastructure such as burglar proof, double-key deadbolt locks on doors and shut windows, occupants may be putting themselves in danger, turning their homes into potential deadly fire traps.
People often secure their homes with burglar proof. Some also people also keep most entry and exit doors locked, often leaving just one door for entry and exit.
Thus, in cases of fire outbreak, occupants become trapped, with people not having the clarity with the chaos of a blaze to think calmly through how to safely escape.
In some instances, occupants of premises are aware of the problem created when they take such security measures, but having weighed their options, and caught between the “the devil and the deep blue sea”, they opt for security, hoping that fire outbreaks will never happen in their homes.
Costly impact
Putting premium on personal security as against a fire outbreak in homes has unfortunately led to the loss of lives. For instance, a family of seven died when fire gutted their house at Asante Marmion (Graphic.com, June 2016).
Reports on the fire indicated that the three-bedroom house, which got burnt down, had only one exit and the fire started around the same exit.
Rescuers who went to the scene could not break through the burglar proof metals on the windows to save those in.
Also, a Pastor’s wife, his in-law and three children died in a fire outbreak at Dansoman in Accra, on August 19, 2018, because they were trapped in the room when the fire broke out at the doorway.
Solution
For balance between security and fire safety, and to get out of this dilemma, the following suggestions are made.
House owners and those occupying commercial buildings have to create doors and windows for escape in different directions.
Second, burglar proof bars in windows must be the collapsible type to permit escape. Alternatively, fixed burglar proof bars in windows must have sections which can be opened to enable escape. These sections can then be secured with padlocks and the keys placed at easily accessible location in a house or office.
Every home must have a fire plan which indicates all the exits in the house. Occupants must practise evacuation drills at regular times, using the fire plan to get familiar with the procedure for safe escape in the event of emergencies.
Beyond these points, perimeter fencing with raze wire, security dogs and CCTV protection could help improve security of homes and other residential accommodations.
The writers are Daniel Annue Quarcoo, Christiana Boatemaa Achena, John Kwesi Dadzie and Daniel Parry, MSC Disaster Management students of UCC.
