Between January and the end of June 2019, there were 365 fires across Sierra Leone. That’s almost two fires a day. If the trend continues, there will be close to 800 fires this year. According to Nasiru Kamanda Bongay, Statistician-General of the National Fire Force (NFF), in 2018 there were approximately 360 fires for the whole year. The Western Area recorded the highest number of fires with 266 or 73% of the total reported incidents. In the Western Area, of 266 fires there were 167 house fires. This was followed by the Northern Region with 44 cases or 12%; the Eastern Region with 35 cases or 10% and the Southern Region with 20 cases or 5%.” The National Fire Force (NFF) Fire Statistics Report from January to June 2019, notes the number of fires in each month of 2019.
January – 60,
February – 51,
March – 142,
April – 41,
May – 45, and
June – 25.
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Bongay said, “March recorded the highest number of fire incidents countrywide. There were 107 house fires, nine dump/dust bin fires and 10 bush fires. Also, 216 house fires were reported of which 170 houses were completely burned down and 46 houses were partly destroyed by fire.” According to the NFF, “fire is a rapid oxidation process which is a chemical reaction resulting in the evolution of light and heat in various intensities. It is… a process of combustion, releasing heat, light and various reaction products. The flame is the visible portion of the fire.” The report lists the main causes of house fires: electrical problems and naked lights or open flames such as candles, cooking fires, mosquito coils or kerosene lamps. Out of the 216 houses affected by fire, 140 were caused by naked flame (65%), 54 were caused by electrical problems (35%). There were six office fires; four were government buildings and two were privately owned. The NASSIT Branch in Kissy was struck by lighting and suffered minimal damage while the Ministry of Social Welfare and Children Affairs at New England Ville suffered maximum damage due to electrical problems. There were only two arson cases reported in schools caused by thieves. The schools were set alight to cover the break-ins but suffered minimum damage. The Statistics, Research and Planning section of the NFF is a semi-autonomous section with the responsibility of collecting, compiling, analyzing, and disseminating of accurate, relevant and timely fire statistics. Fire can result in catastrophic personal injury and devastating damage. Fire incidents can cause death not only from burns, but also from smoke inhalation and toxic gases. Every year billions of Leones in property damage occur as a result of fires. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention note that death from fire and burns are the 5th most common cause of unintentional death in the US and the third leading cause of fatal home injury.
DT/16/9/19
By David Thoronka
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