Sierra Leone Insurance companies warned of pending dangers
In another attempt to share his pain, and express concerns about the difficult situation in which the National Fire Force (NFF) is operating, the Chief Fire Officer, Nazir Ahmed Ali Kamanda Bongay, has given a blurring picture about the state of the safety and security of the country as a fire fighting officer.
Presenting a paper titled, “The role and challenges of the National Fire Force in the security sector” at the first international risk management and insurance seminar recently held in Freetown, Mr. Kamanda-Bongay disclosed “we are in a state where the quantum of arms and ammunitions, high explosive materials, high inflammable liquids and gases like petrol, diesel, etc; continue to be on the increase with little or no proper mechanisms to combat fires that may occur from such explosive and flammable substances.”
The audience of all top executives in the insurance industry in Sierra Leone, and risk experts from Nigeria, Ghana, Europe and the United States, could not hide their ignorance and fears as Mr. Kamanda-Bongay gave a picture of what can only be described as ”very serious” according to one Insurance Agent at the seminar.
The Chief Fire Officer said Sierra Leone is a state where the national water company, Guma Valley Water Company, can close fire hydrants without any reference to the fire service hence causing fire engines to be criss-crossing the city searching for water while people’s lives and properties are been threatened by fire.
He therefore noted, “It is worth noting at this point that, as fire appliances converge at a fire scene and fire fighters position themselves for initial attack and if the fire is rapidly escalating, the need for larger amount of water almost immediately becomes a priority. If a quick water attack is applied, depending on the output, the fire fighter on the nozzle may only have one or two minutes before the tank runs dry. If the source of supply is to come from a hydrant, then it is essential for fire fighters to locate the nearest working hydrant as a matter of urgency.”
He Chief Fire Officer lamented in his presentation, “Yet in Sierra Leone, it is sad to note that we have very limited fire hydrants in the city, half of which are either closed permanently by road works or turn off by the Guma Valley Water Company. This is a sad scenario indeed.”
Talking about the government and the business of insurance, Mr. Kamanda Bongay warned of serious loss to government, because “the repairs of the only existing fire engines become more of a herculean task because of the bureaucratic arrangements surrounding the repairs of government vehicles.”
Identifying strategic buildings in the city like the Law Court, Bank of Sierra Leone, Police Headquarters, and indeed State House, Mr. Bongay disclosed that these are all potential fire threat at a time when the service has only few fire engines to protect the city.
Not wishing but openly embarrassing the big guns in the Insurance industry, the Chief Fire Officer revealed that we are in a state where exit doors in most building especially raised building “are mostly blocked, dry riser mains are non functional, and even the portable fire extinguisher are old and damaged.”
One Risk Management expert, Kortor F. Kamara, talking to Awoko explained that risk management has been defined as the process of identifying and analyzing loss exposures, evaluating the feasibility of risk management techniques to address the loss exposures, selecting and implementing the best techniques and monitoring results; in such a manner that any organization or governmental entity can meet its objectivesminimization of adverse effects of accidental losses.
Mr. Kamara having listened to the Chief Fire Officer called for development and establishment in Sierra Leone of a national insurance and risk management strategy office to protect government owned assets and minimize loss to the government and people.
By Winston Ojukutu Macauley Jnr.
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