Sensitise populace on fire safety
People stand near the wreckage of a fuel tanker that overturned and burst into flames at Kigogwa town on Kampala-Bombo road. PHOTO/ ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- The issue: Public safety
- Our view: The authorities should do more to ensure safety of the public by sensitising people on how to act when such accidents occur. This should be done urgently and diligently because as sure as day follows night, there is bound to be another fuel tanker overturning and going up in flames again. Let us not lose more lives in these fires.
This week, a fuel tanker overturned and burst into flames at Kigogwa, Kampala-Bombo Road, killing 15 people and injuring many others. Properties worth millions of shillings were destroyed.
The government will give Shs5 million to each bereaved family to assist with burial expenses and Shs1 million for those injured to help with treatment. While this is noble, more should be done.
There is an urgent need for sensitisation of the populace about fire and safety and in this case, what to do in such circumstances.
This is not the first time a fuel tanker is going up in flames and injuring or killing many.
Every time this happens, there are those who rush to siphon fuel from the fallen tanker with basins,jerry cans and polythene bags. These are usually the first victims when fire occurs.
It is unfortunate that there are those like 19-year-old Joseph Muwonge who met their death not from siphoning fuel but because of trying to save others or just being bystanders.
Among the known innocent victims are Muwonge who is said to have tried to rescue children who were trapped in the blaze, a 26-year-old mother and her two children aged five and three years.
The latter were in their house, near the point where the tanker overturned.
The mother is said to have entered her house and closed the door, thinking it was safer to stay in with her children.
But as mentioned before, apart from the innocent victims, there were those who took advantage of the fallen tanker to siphon fuel using jerry cans, basins and polythene bags and ended up paying for it very expensively, with their lives.
The driver is said to have issued repeated warnings for people to stay away in vain.
Whether they did this out of sheer ignorance or greed, it speaks to the need for awareness and sensitisation when it comes to such incidents.
Ms Doreen Asiimwe, the managing director of Uganda Fire Experts Limited says immediate evacuation (3,000 feet away from the spillage) is important.
The authorities should do more to ensure safety of the public by sensitising people on how to act when such accidents occur.
This should be done urgently and diligently because as sure as day follows night, there is bound to be another fuel tanker overturning and going up in flames again. Let us not lose more lives in these fires.
