Rwanda National Police

The Rwanda National Police (RNP) Fire and Rescue Brigade, on Wednesday, extended its fire safety awareness to hundreds of staff and students at the National Police College (NPC) in Musanze District.

The training, which has so far been extended to thousands of people across the country, is aimed at equipping all segments of the public with basic fire prevention and response skills.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Jean Baptiste Seminega, the Commanding Officer (CO) of Fire and Rescue Brigade, while speaking to the trainees, said that some fires are due to negligence and violation of fire safety standards.

“Some people use lay practitioners to set electricity connection in their houses; these people have no training and they use common knowledge, which often leads to short-circuit  leaving houses and occupants at risk. The same goes for people with no knowledge on safe usage of cooking gas,” ACP Seminega said.

He added: “The purpose of this firefighting training is to equip you with practical knowledge and tips that enable you to identify the conditions  that cause fire, to use a fire extinguisher, respond appropriately to fire emergencies and follow the fire evacuation plan and implement fire emergency procedure.”

The CO urged them to put to good use the acquired skills and extend them to members of their households.

The trainees were given skills on how to use a fire extinguisher and sand to putout a fire, safer ways to use Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or cooking gas, among others.

Human behaviours including reckless handling of cooking gas and electricity have been blamed for the majority of fires related to gas and electricity, causing losses to the business community, destroying domestic property and in other cases leading to loss of lives.

Most of fire disasters are preventable because they are caused by reckless human behaviors like not locking gas cylinder or cooker after use and when you light fire the leaking gas sets the house ablaze.

“Whatever you do always take precautionary measures; there are proper ways to handle anything that can cause fire like electricity and gas. Don’t let children play with electricity or gas and always make sure that the gas cylinder and cooker are switched off after use,” said ACP Seminega

He further urged them against keeping inflammables like petroleum products in houses, which can easily ignite a fire.

In case of fire, the general public is reminded to always be quick to call the RNP Fire and Rescue services on toll-free line 111, 112 and 0788311120, for a quick response.