07 Apr 2013

Ninety four per cent of the fires that destroy lives and property in the Central District are accidental and could be avoided if people were aware of the precautionary measures to take, Fire Services controller in the Central District, Mr Whitfield Joshua has said.

Mr Joshua, who was officiating at the Boteti Sub-istrict fire expo at Letlhakane on Saturday, informed residents that most of the sub-districts did not have fire equipment and as such there was need to engage the community through fire expositions.

“We are currently reliant on fire stations at Francistown, Selebi Phikwe and Orapa to assist at some parts of the sub-district,” he said.

He said the district had plans to set up sub-stations before the end of the current financial year. Mr Joshua said two years ago, Central District was manned by 15 fire fighters based in Palapye, adding that some strides had been made to increase the number to 85. He also noted that the district had advanced fire rescue equipment and ambulances.

Mr Joshua emphasized that members of the community must be equipped with basic knowledge and should be in a position to know what to do and what not to do in case of fire outbreak, noting that in most instances, people called the police instead of the fire department when there was fire.

He said some would run to neighbours to seek help only to come back when it would be too late having lost all their belongings in a fire that could have been controlled if such a person was equipped with basic fire fighting skills.

Meanwhile an official from Karowe Diamond Mine, Ms Kesego Mantle indicated that 95 per cent of deaths in fire incidents were a result of choking from the smoke. Ms Mantle said fire produced carbon dioxide, which could result in suffocation due to shortage of oxygen. “You only have about three minutes to escape in a case where a house is gutted by fire,”she said adding that within such a short period, carbon monoxide produced exceeded 128 per cent, leading to shortage of oxygen and subsequently suffocation and death.

Senior assistant council secretary, Mr Motshwariemang Matseka said Boteti was fortunate to have partners in the mining industry such as Orapa and Karowe Mines, who were well equipped with fire fighting equipment.

Mr Matseka said the district had a firefighting depot at Serowe, which was far from most areas of the district. Mr Matseka said the district had seen it vital to impart basic firefighting skills to the public and business community. He said it was unfortunate that some businesses did not even have basic equipment such as fire extinguishers and coulld end up losing billions of Pula through fires that could have been easily controlled. ENDS