Implement appropriate strategies to prevent fires – Fire Officer

Mr Roy Aloryito, Divisional Officer of the Fire Service, has appealed to the general public to ensure that they implement the appropriate strategies to help prevent the emergence of fires.

He said the best thing to do was to prevent fire from occurring and that people should at the same time be well versed in controlling the emergence of fires.

Mr Aloryito said this at a workshop on fire prevention and how to fight a fire when it starts, for some stakeholders of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), Airline representatives, as well as some travelers at the Kotoka International Airport.

He demonstrated to the participants how to properly use a fire extinguisher using the PASS method, which is to first pull out the safety pin, aim at the base of the fire and not the flames, squeeze both levers at the top of the extinguisher simultaneously and sweep it across the fire to put it out.

“It should be noted that fire extinguishers are only meant to be used to put out initial fires and so fire fighters must be called in if the fire moves beyond its initial stages. Do not try to put out a large fire with an extinguisher,” he said.

Mr Aloryito said because the contents of a fire extinguisher would be used up within about 40-45 seconds of using it continuously, it should be used with care.

He said other methods such as smothering the fire with a wet blanket or a bucket of sand could be used to put out a fire in its initial stages.

Mr Aloryito appealed to the general public to keep their gas cylinders outside their rooms to prevent fires outbreaks adding that it was important that LPG gas cylinders should be changed when their expiry dates are due to prevent any fire outbreak.

Participants at the event were taken through some basics procedures in first aid where they were taught how to handle emergency cases like helping someone who is choking, performing Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation and how to stop bleeding.

Source: GNA