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Fire outbreaks: Stay alert
A resident uses a jerrycan to extinguish fire that caught one of the house in Namulanda B Zone, Kajjansi Town Council – Wakiso District killing six children on May 15, 2024. PHOTO/ PAUL ADUDE
What you need to know:
- The issue: Fire outbreaks
- Our view: Let us be alive to the fact that a fire can break out anytime and therefore put in place necessary precautions to prevent occurrence but also always have an escape plan.
On Wednesday, six children belonging to South Sudanese nationals were burnt to death in a fire that broke out in their rented apartment at Namulanda B Zone, Kajjansi Town Council, Wakiso District.
Hibba William (16), Gith William (15), Dijwok William (12), Achwanj William (9), Teggi William (4) and Gloria William (2) died in the fire that is said to have started in the wee hours of Wednesday, May 15.
The children’s mother who was in the house when the fire broke out was the only one who was rescued and survived. The eldest daughter had been rescued too but got trapped in the inferno and died when she went back in to save her siblings.
What is intriguing about the tragedy is that it did not happen from out of the blue. A neighbour says that sometime back, the family had complained about a short circuit that had nearly burnt them at night.
Initial observations, though, suggest that the fire originated from an electric kettle left unattended in the sitting room, connected to a socket.
Such terrible occurrences are crude reminders that household accidents, especially fires, can get out of control anytime, anywhere.
The fact that six young lives were lost in such a macabre manner calls for more attention to household safety. Their mother might have survived the fire but might need a lifetime of therapy to live with what happened on that dark Wednesday.
Many tragic incidents, including falls, burning from unattended to stoves and kitchens, and many others. have happened in homes.
In their 2023 annual crime report, police revealed that the majority of fires registered were in residential buildings. This goes to show how much of a task it is to put measures in place to prevent fires in residential buildings and other buildings of course.
Let us be alive to the fact that a fire can break out anytime and therefore put in place necessary precautions to prevent occurrence but also always have an escape plan. It is said that the family in question couldn’t quickly exit the burning house because they couldn’t locate the key to open the door.
Now that the school holiday is on, we might have taken our minds off worrying about school fires but let us continue to be vigilant about safety precautions even at home.
Make sure that electronic gadgets are in good condition, those in dangerous mechanical condition should be repaired or their use discontinued.
Care must be exercised when using candles, gas, and other flammable items, and if possible, child-proofing residences should be done. Faulty electric wiring should be reported and corrected, etc. Let’s do everything we can to promote safety in the spaces that we occupy, be it commercial or residential.
