JOHANNESBURG – The City of Johannesburg Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is very much alarmed with the number of lives and property that have been lost due to domestic fires during the winter season.
Since the beginning of May 2014 the EMS has responded to 25 structural fires in Johannesburg, resulting in 10 people losing their lives. These fires have led to unnecessary deaths and a loss of property, leaving communities in a vulnerable state. These unforeseen circumstances are preventable if people use proper cooking and lighting equipment, and know how to identify the risks in their houses and remove them.
These fires are mostly caused by the following:
1. Lighting and heating appliances that are not regulated by National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) and in most cases they explode and start fires.
2. Candles that are not placed on proper candle safety jars to prevent them from falling.
3. Using open fire for cooking in a confined space with highly flammable materials, for example imbaula (braziers), which is a cause of death when people inhale its toxic smoke.
4. Illegal connections of electricity, which has bad consequences for young children through electrocution.
5. The most recent causes which are difficult for the city to deal with, are fires started by love triangles where couples fight because one partner no longer loves the other.
