. WINA

By FLAVIOR CHISHALA –
VICE-PRESIDENT Inonge Wina has urged local authorities to consider coming up with a practical regulation to empower households with firefighting equipment.
Ms Wina said there was no law in Zambia that compelled home owners to invest in domestic firefighting equipment but the onus was on local authorities, the Government and individuals to protect people and their property.
This was said in a speech read for her by deputy minister in her office Bwalya Chungu at the Fire Com Limited launch of the fireball extinguisher in Lusaka.
“I would like to appeal to the Lusaka City Council and other local authorities to seriously consider coming up with a regulatory framework that is not only effective and practical, but also user-friendly to our citizenry in order for us to save lives and property,” Ms Wina said.
She said the responsibility of preventing and mitigating fire incidents should not rest on the Government alone but home owners should ensure that they were fire-secure.
Ms Wina said the Government had invested more than K40 million in the procurement of firefighting equipment, including 42 fire engines.
“Our vision is to achieve ‘community-based disaster and risk management’, meaning that communities and individuals must take up their share of responsibility,” she said.
In 2014, the Lusaka Fire Brigade attended to 565 fire and fire-related incidents of which 85 per cent were domestic while 15 per cent were industrial.
Statistics show that a middle-class family lost about K100,000 worth of goods while a medium-scale enterprise lost about K3 million worth of goods and equipment.
Fire Com Limited chief executive director Bruce Mulonda said Zambia needed a sustainable and strategic way of quenching fires.
Mr Mulonda said his firm was concerned with the lack of knowledge by members of the community on the dangers and impact of fire.
He said Zambians had for a long time now suffered fire losses and uncontrollable damages, hence the introduction of fireballs to solve the problem of people dying in the houses because of inability to escape from fire.
“These fireballs are user-friendly because you do not need to be home to quench the fire, all you need to do is plant it anywhere in a home and when it comes in contact with the flames it will immediately quench the fire,” Mr Mulonda said.
The fireball will cost K950 and be used up to the period of five years without the user being trained on how to operate it.