Rwanda National Police

Rwanda National Police (RNP) has urged the public to be cautious against any careless activity that can lead to fire outbreaks which harm lives and property.

The message stems from an incident that occurred on July 3, when a residential house in Rusizi District, Kamembe Sector, Kamashagi Cell, caught fire and led to heavy loss of property.

Fire and Rescue Brigade was able to arrive on the scene and put out the fire without anyone being injured or the fire spreading to neighboring houses.

The Police Spokesperson for Western Province Police Spokesperson, Superintendent Emmanuel Hitayezu, commended the residents who hurriedly informed police about the raging fire, noting that information sharing through community policing has led to sustained security and safety throughout Rwanda.

“Fire plagues are usually unplanned unless in the cases of arson, and can be avoided if residents are more vigilant. Causes of fire outbreaks are mainly old electric wirings, overloading, arson and ignorance. Therefore it is paramount that the public know how to avoid causing fires,” he said.

Police has the expertise and tools to stop fires and rescue people who may be trapped inside burning buildings; this calls for more partnership through timely provision of information.”

Recently in April, RNP received four new firefighting trucks from the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) to further boost its readiness against fire outbreaks throughout the country.

The Fire and Rescue Brigade at RNP has now grown to 12 modern firefighting trucks, including a sky-lift vehicle with capacity to extinguish fires of up to the 20th floor of storied buildings.

Its 55-metre hydronic ladder can enable trapped people to climb down from storied buildings or lift fire fighters up to combat fires.

Police continuously offers trainings to both officers and the members of the public in order to increase their general knowledge and skills on how to avert fire outbreaks.

The force established a toll free number, 111, which citizens can call for emergency in case of a fire outbreak.