Detergent does not extinguish fire

Experts have warned of the danger of installing gas cylinders in the kitchen and the lack of adequate safety tools in residential areas.

Second-in-Command, Federal Fire Service, Ikoyi, Lagos, Ehimen Momoh, likened installing gas cylinder inside the kitchen to planting bombs in the house.

Momoh warned that a 12kg gas cylinder was capable of bringing down a five-story building when it explodes. Momoh sounded the warning at the weekend during the training of the Fire Marshal team of The Guardian Newspapers as first responders, at the headquarters in Lagos.

In his words: “When it comes to fire outbreak, we all have a part to play. To be a father or a mother is not a title, it is a responsibility. Parents must educate their children on fire prevention because every fire that destroys property worth millions, started with a spark, so, that is why we should know what to do every time to prevent fire outbreaks.

“Anyone that can prevent a fire outbreak is better than a thousand trained firemen. Eighty per cent of fire outbreak happens due to carelessness, which means doing the right thing at the right time goes a long way to preventing fire.”

Speaking on what everyone must have to prevent an outbreak of fire outbreak at home, he said: “Every home must have a fire extinguisher, which is the CO2 or the Dry Chemical Powder (DCP) extinguisher, gas leakage detector in the kitchen, and we must sound the danger of having cylinders in the kitchen; it’s as if you are planting a bomb at home if you have a cylinder in the kitchen.

“Again, swapping a cylinder is dangerous because you don’t know how long the cylinder had been in use. Nigerians must learn to go to a good gas plant to test a cylinder if it can still withstand another six years, and must test the health of their cylinders every six years.

On what must be done during a fire outbreak, he said: “The first thing to do, in the case of a fire outbreak, is to raise the alarm for everyone to exit the building and if it can be managed, an extinguisher must be reached out for or call the fire service immediately.

Also speaking, The Guardian Chief Security Officer (CSO), Jason Nwaogazi, said: “it is very important for every corporate organisation to train their staff and fire marshals regularly in case of emergency. A company must have a team that is dedicated to responding to fire emergencies. Fire is an emergency that can happen at any time so, an organisation must have a solid response plan for the issue of fire outbreak.

Jason, who is also head of The Guardian Fire Marshal, added: “It’s a good thing we have this training here. I wanted a situation where we have marshals that are equipped with the right knowledge to respond to fire emergencies. For the fact that we use gas as our main source of energy in this organisation, it’s important we have staff who have the knowledge of how to deal with fire incidents.”