Upper East Region records 337 fire outbreaks

Correspondence from Upper East Region:

About 337 fire outbreaks have been recorded in the Upper East Region, out of which 135 are domestic fires from the Bolgatanga Municipality.

The Upper East Regional Fire Officer, Mr. George Asante Wife, attributed the cause of the fires to electrical faults and gas explosions.

He therefore cautioned the general public against the act of engaging the services of uncertified electricians to wire their houses.

"The general public should make sure that the electricians they engage are certified. If they are in doubt, they can even contact the Electricity Company of Ghana or VRA to introduce them to those who are certified and can do the job," he said.

Mr. Wiafe also advised the general public to desist from loading a lot of gadgets on extension cords, since that exerts too much pressure on them.

"We think because we have an extension cord, we load everything on it, forgetting that we are tapping from just 250 volts. With some of our gadgets, we are not supposed to use them with other gadgets. Freezers, fridges and heaters should be plugged directly," he pointed.

The Fire Service Officer further admonished the public against the act of switching on their cookers without having their matches in hand, explaining that when the gas leaks and there is no proper ventilation, it would form layers and consequently spark up fire.

"We will open the cooker before we look for the matches to come and light it. This is a very bad practice because if you don't have a good nose, you will not know because gas has no scent. The moment you open the outlet, the gas will leak, and the moment you strike the matches, you are going to be the first to go," he warned.

Mr. Wiafe appealed to the public to always let the attendants at the gas filling plants to check their cylinders for leakage.

He explained that they could check for leakage, by simply forming soapy water and passing it around the valve of the cylinder, if the soapy water bubbles, that would be an indication that there is a leakage.

He condemned the practice of placing blocks on cylinders as a away of controlling gas leakage.

He encouraged the general public to practice the switch off and plug syndrome, whereby after switching off a gadget, they unplug the cable from the socket.

"Some of them, when they use the heaters, they leave them in the sockets. When it is the inferior type, you see that when the light is off, you think you have switched it off, but it will still be working," the officer observed.