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A group of firefighters from local authorities undergo training from the UK-based fire fighting trainers. Property worth thousands has been lost in fires

Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Correspondent
BULAWAYO lost property worth over $583,000 through fire in the first half of this year, an 11 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Last year property worth $523,000 went up in smoke in the city between January and June.

Bulawayo’s chief fire officer, Richard Peterson, said although more property was destroyed by fire, they recorded a decrease in fire incidents.

“An estimated $583,040 worth of property was lost in the period January to June 2015. In 2014, $523,025 worth of property was lost through fires in the same period marking an increase of about 11 percent,” said Peterson.

“We responded to 143 fire incidents in 2015 while last year we responded to 199 cases. There is a 28 percent reduction in fire cases.”

He said three people were injured in this year’s fires.

“We recorded zero deaths for the two years. Between January and June this year, three people were injured through fire while five were injured last year,” Peterson said.

He urged parents and guardians to teach their children the dangers of playing with matches and candles.

“Most of the domestic fires we attended to were caused by children playing with fire. Children are given access to matches but our message has always been clear that candles and matches must be placed out of the reach of children,” said Peterson.

He said bridging of electrical wires was the other reason for domestic fires.

“Residents must avoid overloading electrical circuits. Overloading of electrical circuits sparks electrical fires, damaging property,” Peterson said.

He attributed the reduction in fire incidents to massive awareness campaigns that the city’s fire department had been conducting.

“We did 56 fire awareness campaigns throughout Bulawayo. We want to express our gratitude for the response we got from members of the public this year. This year 22,000 residents attended our awareness campaigns compared to 12,000 last year,” said Peterson.

He said the department had inspected fewer buildings due to a manpower shortage.

“We inspected 100 buildings in 2015 compared to 109 last year. We also conducted training sessions in commercial and industrial areas,” Peterson said.