Rwanda National Police

For some time now, a number of people have been affected by “fire outbreak,” directly or indirectly. Property worth billions including houses and even lives, have been lost in these preventable incidents.

Majority of the incidents happened in Kigali City and in other sides of the country were caused by short-circuit.

Investigations indicate that electricity installations in these affected facilities were either sub-standard, outdated or were badly installed, most likely, by lay-professionals. Welding works, candles and charcoal stoves are other contributors of fire outbreak.

The Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS) issued a communiqué in 2011, to alert importers, traders and end users of the requirements for electrical cables of cross-section area between 1.5mm2 to 6mm2.The insulated conductors have to be made of “Copper only.”

Substandard cables seized from the market or installed in some of the affected facilities had conductors made mainly of Aluminum with a thin coating of copper material around the Aluminum conductor. Sometimes traders use these tactics to cheat customers.

Examine electrical wiring in your house, especially if it is an older one; damaged electrical wiring pose danger to fire outbreak.

Install fire-fighting equipment like fire extinguishers and smoke alarms; keep kitchen towels and oven mitts away from stoves while cooking; don’t leave a candle burning in the house; let all members of the house learn fire-fighting techniques.

Knowing and understanding some of the factors that could lead to these out breaks, is important in preventing them;

Electricity: It is important we realize that electricity is a leading cause of fire outbreaks. A good knowledge on how to handle and/or use electricity or electrical appliances at home is therefore necessary. Turning off appliances after use and removing plugs is important. Regular inspection of electrical circuits in your home will help you to rectify faults beforehand. These are simple things that we tend to overlook. But as simple as they are, damages that could result from their misuse are better imagined than experienced.