Rwanda National Police

The Rwanda National Police’s (RNP) ongoing exercise to equip members of the public and the business community in particular, with skills on how to prevent and put out fire paid off on Tuesday when residents of Nyarugunga sector of Kicikiro district used the acquired techniques to extinguish fire which had broken out of a commercial building in Kamashashi cell.

The business community and residents Nyarugunga are among those who have benefited from this training.

Fire erupted out of the salon room operating in the building at about 10 am, prompting area residents and the business community to intervene to save the situation.

Residents used dry sand and soil to extinguish the fire before escalating to other parts of the facility.

“During the training, they taught us that dry sand and soil can actually help to put out fire. So when fire broke out, we immediately organised ourselves to carry sand and soil from the nearby and managed to extinguish the fire before it destroyed many things in the salon and escalating to other parts of the building,” one of the area residents said.

“We first called the Police fire department for rescue but again we knew, since we had acquired training, we could do something before they arrive and we actually managed to save the building,” another resident said.

Senior Supt. Jean de Dieu Gshiramanga, Commanding Officer for the Fire and Rescue Brigade in Rwanda National Police, who thanked residents for not “wasting” their skills, said the incident was caused by a short-circuit that resulted from overloading the electric socket.

“This is a valiant deed that has to be emulated to continue to work together for the good of us all. This is a clear indication that this training is important and we will continue to give similar skills even to other communities across the country,” SSP Gashiramanga said.

He also appealed to the public to always buy quality electronics from recognised shops and avoid over loading these electrical gadgets, which in most cases is the cause of fire outbreak.

He also appealed to owners of facilities to also check electrification in their houses.

He called upon the public to always call Police’s toll free lines, namely, 111, 07888311224, 07888311120 and 0788311335, in case of fire incident.

In a similar manner, sixty people who include members of Community Policing Committees (CPCs) and community night patrols from Kimihurura sector of Gasabo district on May 18 completed training in fire fighting.