? Much as Ghanaians are hugely disturbed about the recent spate of conflagrations raging around us, annihilating our markets, houses and electrical transformers, we must equally be wary of the information filtering through to us from the NDC government. ? Drawing from experience, interactions with the NDC, the study of the NDC as a party, people and a government, I will only advise that Ghanaians had better scrutinize whatever the government tells them about the fires ravaging the country. The government and the NDC peddlers of misinformation are to be watched, stopped in their tracks, and reprimanded when we become convincingly suspicious of their actions. ? The wise one from Kumawu/Asiampa has the following observations and suggestions to make following the trend of developments ? 1. When the fire outbreaks became more than the nation could contain, President Mahama announced he suspects foul play. He believes some people are setting fire to the markets to incite the victims and the public against him and his government. ? 2. The NDC National Chairman, Dr Kwabena Adjei, has emphatically said on TV that ? 3. President Mahama announced to the nation that he has invited American experts to come to help us establish the causes of the fire outbreaks to help his administration arrest the culprits if any. ? 4. Sooner had the Americans started their job than the government announced the security agents have arrested some suspected arsonists ? 5. After police interrogation, the identities and origins of the arrested suspects have been disclosed to the public. They are ? To proceed any further, let me define arson. ARSON is the act of intentionally or recklessly setting fire to another's property or to one's own property for some improper reason. Additionally, an ARSONIST is a person who commits arson. ? Mahama's secret deployment of Americans into the country to assist, his suspicion of sabotage, the NDC's advance accusation of NPP as the perpetrators of the arson, the quick arrest of the arsonists, have more to it than meets the eye.Insightful Expert's View on the Possible Causes of Market Fire Outbreaks in Ghana"
The current spate of fire outbreaks in urban areas in Ghana is very worrisome, I must confess. All hands must be on deck to determine the causes, suggest solutions and to punish the perpetrators (arsonists) of the crime if there is any.
I will try not to be too technical in conveying my views on the possible causes of the recent alarming fire outbreaks in Ghana to the Ghanaian public. Unless we approach the problem with a fair mind devoid of political blame-game, we shall never uncover the real causes of the problem and subsequently, may not be able to prevent their future recurrences.
Firstly, we have to look at electricity as the major cause. The current state of rampant unannounced on and off electricity supply in the country can cause fire outbreaks. The incessant power outages coupled with repeated switching on of power by the power suppliers (Electricity Company of Ghana - ECG), with the concomitant input SURGE CURRENTS created each time power is switched back on by ECG, fire can result. Surge Currents are otherwise called INRUSH CURRENT. This current could go as far as 100 times the normal current needed by the electrical device. This results in damages to the electrical appliances which may escalate into fire outbreak if the circuit is not well protected by fuses or circuit breakers. What a recipe for disaster?
"If the current is higher than a predetermined maximum, or persists beyond a determined time delay the circuit breakers will trip removing the power to the equipment" However, in Ghana where dodgy electricians or individuals help certain home owners, market stall owners etc to traffic electricity, they fail to protect the electric circuits adequately; not using correct fuses or residual circuit breakers (RCD). In the absence of any protection, the full force of the inrush current hits the electrical equipment leading to damage and or fire.
To prove my point, I will cite my own encounter with the intermittent power outages in about year 2008. I had decided to go out with friends one afternoon with the car's ignition key turned on, friends sitting in the car waiting for me. As I left to join them in the car with a door opened for me, it struck me to feel my pockets to ensure I had my wallet on me. Unfortunately, the wallet was not. I excused them, rushed back into the room to collect it. When I opened the door, what I saw was more than it meets the eye. The entire room was full of smoke. I stood back a second, wondering what could be the cause. When I regained my senses, I could see my computer that was playing music a while ago emitting unbelievably amount of smoke. I rushed to unplug it from the mains, took it outside, flipped it over the balcony wall into the open area of the house and shouted for the attention of my friends.
This goes to prove the veracity of the biblical saying, "Count every misfortune as a blessing". If I had not forgotten my wallet, I would have gone out to return to find the entire house probably burnt down to ashes. This incident happened because there was a momentary power outage and power back on without me turning the desktop computer (PC) off when the power went off. The power went off as I was leaving the room and came back on within minutes (as I was about to get into the car). What could have caused the problem apart from the possible input surge current when the power came back on?
Secondly, the electric wires or cables chosen to carry out the installation of electricity in our homes, market stalls, kiosks etc are also of greater essence. We must be very conscious about the quality and size of cables or wires we use for any given electrical installation –power circuit, light circuit, etc. If an inferior size electric wire, let us say, 1.5 millimetres normally used for lighting is used for power (sockets –2.5 millimetres) or electric boilers circuits –4.0 millimetres, the wire heats up when the load on the circuits (inductive or resistive loads) are turned on. "Voltage drop on wires due to resistance causes hotter wires and less voltage to run the devices attached to it. Planning ahead for circuit size, the distance it must travel, and what is going to be connected to it will save you money and frustration later". Do we often abide by that principle? Heated cables or wires can cause fire outbreaks.
The quality of the wires or cables is also important. I understand the wires/cables imported from China are of low quality with the likelihood of giving in to any hazards. Mice chewing the protective coverings on the cables/wires give rise to electric sparks or cause short-circuits when two such nude cables/wires come into contact.
There is also the possibility of arsonists behind the fire outbreaks. However, I will in the meantime stick to electricity as being the major cause even though the actions of some leaders raise the stake of arson very high.
Solutions:
1. Correct-sized and quality cables/wires are to be used for any given specific circuits.
2. The Power suppliers (ECG) are to inform the public hours before any power outage takes place. They must advise consumers to switch off their electrical devices plugged in or switched on before they, ECG, turn off the power. This will reduce any unnecessary inrush currents into electrical appliances to cause damage and possible fires when the power is switched back on by ECG.
3. There must be trained electricians competent enough to inspect, test and certify electrical installations before ECG supplies them with power
4. Consumers are to be made aware of the hazards posed by illegal electrical connections
5. All electrical circuits must be adequately protected (using correct circuit breakers, fuses)
6. Lay mice traps in your ceilings and vantage points if you suspect them to cause damage to your wires
7. Ghanaians are to be one another's keeper in this critical period of fire outbreaks. We have to inform the police if we suspect anyone of deliberately setting fire to homes and markets
8. We should not jump into hasty conclusions blaming our political opponents for what they may not be involved in. Until we stop that, solutions to problems will always evade us.
Rockson Adofo
? I suspect Mahama and the NDC are rather seeking alibi although false as it may be, to court the public sympathy by portraying NPP as the perpetrators of the ongoing arson. Having succeeded painting the NPP as evil, they hope to win enough public support and sympathy to influence the Supreme Court's decision in their favour. They know they are losing the election 2012 case pending in the Supreme Court hence, their desperate quest for turning the public against the NPP. ? The NDC as full of little-minds as usual, think resorting to committing nonsensical crimes, then blaming them on the NPP will enhance their appeal to the public to support them stay in power, as insatiably corrupt as they are. Why would they move in bulldozers a day after Kantamanto market got burnt down, to pull down remaining structures, deciding to put up a modern market in the place where the burnt market stood? Do they think all Ghanaians are as stupid as they are? Have the NDC not stage-managed the arson if indeed some people are behind it? ? Anyway, let us give Mahama and his NDC the benefit of the doubt until they come out with their findings on the causes of the fires and the arrests of the supposed arsonists. I will come out hard on them after consulting with my usual White legal brains should their conclusion appear cynical. ? Let me reproduce below my recently published views on the fire outbreaks which almost nobody read because the title was without the usual eye-catching political tone. It was published on Ghanaweb, modernghana and Spy@Ghana.com on Thursday, 13 June 2013 entitled, "the NPP cannot absolve itself from blame in the wake of the frightening fire outbreaks. Yakubu Tahiru, Fatau Ibrahim and Mustafa Adamu from Bawku in the North but until their arrest, were sojourning in Accra.
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