Preventing shack fires

It is important for informal settlement residents to remember that if their structures are less than three metres apart, a fire can spread with ease.

Brakpan Herald

May 30, 2020

Fire engines often have difficulty traversing routes in informal settlements.

Knowing fire safety practices can carry us safely through the winter.

Temperatures are decreasing and many people have begun to look for ways to beat the winter chill and keep warm.

According to William Ntladi, district manager media liaison for Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS), most fires are caused by negligence.

“Cigarettes, lighters, matches, candles, illegal electrical connections and overloaded circuits, heating appliances such as paraffin stoves and braziers, and equipment such as power generators and liquified gas appliances, can all be lethal if not properly monitored,” he said.

READ: Adhere to these fire safety tips to prevent a fire emergency during the winter months

Ntladi explained it is important for informal settlement residents to remember that if their structures are less than three metres apart, a fire can spread with ease.

He provided the following safety tips to prevent shack fires:

• Keep a close eye on paraffin stoves. Don’t cook near a window with curtains.
• Make sure the stove does not fall over, which may cause a fire.
• Make sure candles cannot fall over. Don’t go to sleep with candles still burning.
• If you must use braziers or coal braai-stands inside your home, keep the door and windows opened to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Keep combustibles away from the heat source.
• Smoking in bed is dangerous. Never smoke in bed.
• Be aware of the dangers of illegal and faulty electricity connections, which can also cause fires.
• Refill your electrical power generator, paraffin stove or lamps while still cold.
• Keep separate buckets handy filled with water and sand so that you can extinguish flames easily.
• In case of an emergency, call DEMS as soon as possible on 011 458 0911 (life threatening Ekurhuleni emergency line), 10177 (national toll-free number) or 112 (cellphone).
• In the event your clothes catch alight, do not run.
It is better to “stop, drop and roll”.
• Wrapping a blanket around someone whose clothes have caught alight can also help extinguish the flames.