Not too long ago, the identification of a town consisted of a minimum set of public services which included a Post Office, a Police Station, a Hospital, a Church, a School, and a Fire Brigade Station.
When we look at the oldest buildings in any town or city, these relics of public services still characterize the genesis of urban development. In the developed world these old facilities have become museums for the kids to marvel at, as new and more sophisticated installations are put in place to replace these now inefficient buildings and associated equipment.
Old Churches and hospitals are often elevated to tourist attractions, and as we see in Lusaka, the old Post Office at the corner of Katondo Street and Freedom way is now a national monument. This is generally the fate of most old and now historical buildings and equipment as the value is more for capturing lessons learnt and experiences, than functionality in this constantly developing world.
The odd situation in Zambia is that the Fire Brigade Stations around the country seem to have escaped this natural course of evolution. We still have our old Fire Stations running more or less the same as they did in 1964 at the turn of independence. In some cases even the fire engines are now vintage vehicles fit for the museums with little or no functionality except to ferry firemen from one place to another.
Some ten to fifteen years ago, Society House on Lusaka’s Cairo Road was gutted by fire while the Lusaka Fire Brigade with support from the National Airports Fire Tenders and even the Kafue Fire Brigade helplessly made some feeble attempts to put the fire out. The equipment at hand was not adequate to deal with a fire in a multistoried building, and therefore most of the floors above the fifth floor became infernos that were fed by furniture, carpets and worst of all, a keen wind up there above the tree line. The ghost like building still stands with blackened walls like the remains from some war zone. Its current value is that it is now the most expensive giant bill board stand in Africa and markets products for a mobile phone company.
Did we learn any lessons from this experience? Did we use this nasty experience to prepare better to fight future fires?
Another memorable fire broke out on the top floor of Kulima Tower in Lusaka in the premises of the Zambia National Tender Board. Again, there was very little that the fire department could do even with support from their traditional Airport tenders and the whole floor was gutted as we all watched helplessly.
Over the years several fires have erupted at markets in Lusaka, Kitwe, Ndola, and Livingstone, and yet again we had inadequate fire tenders and equipment to prevent the loss of property and lives in these incidents.
More recently, Shoprite on Cairo Road went ablaze in broad daylight and in full view of many Lusaka residents. The usual team of Lusaka Fire Brigade and the National Airports Corporation and any other miscellaneous equipment came to the rescue, but the building which was no more than two floors tall, went up in flames until it could burn no more. Those people that work in the vicinity reported that the fire went on for days before it burned itself out.
Last week, another fire broke out in an office block in Kitwe. The Kitwe Fire Brigade, the various fire services operating in the mining companies, and the Copperbelt Energy Corporation fire tenders rushed to the scene and tried to put out the fire. The equipment was not very functional, the despondent firemen and women just seemed to go through the motions mechanically, and there was a general atmosphere of resignation to the fact that the building would either burn to the ground, or that the fire would somehow burn itself out. Fortunately, the latter proved to be the outcome due to lack of oxygen to feed the fire in the building, and only one floor was gutted.
Last Thursday night I received a phone call in the small hours of the morning from someone who was mistakenly informing me that our shop was burning to ashes in the market. When I told the caller in Nyanja that I did not have a clue about what he was talking about, he promptly apologized and told me that he had dialed a wrong number but that there was a fire in the market. My immediate thought was ‘will there be a fire brigade tender to put the fire out before it destroys goods and buildings belonging to the caller and other entrepreneurs?’ I was not too hopeful about that.
The prospect of fire breaking out anywhere in Zambia must be an Insurance company’s nightmare. The possibility of a limited insurance claim is almost non existent because without proper fire fighting equipment in our towns and cities the expectation is that the fire will wipe out everything flammable. Since the insurance business is all about risk, the premiums for fire insurance must be very high to mitigate against the fact that fires cannot be fought effectively and efficiently in Zambia.
What misery and wastage of resources do fires account for? How many small businesses in the various markets have perished due to fires? How many families move from survival mode with a small business, to destitute mode when their property and goods are burnt to ashes? How many men and women have we seen wailing on television because their homes were burned to the ground due to fire? Fire destroys completely. The only value of the end product after a fire is fertilizer for gardens, as was used in the Chitemene system.
We can all therefore see a strong case for investing in our various Fire Departments and Fire Brigades around the country. It is important for businesses, that fire should be a risk that can be managed. Our insurance premiums will be much lower if the insurance companies can count on our national fire fighting capacity to put the fires out to minimize the damage to property. Fire reduces an asset to ashes therefore it destroys wealth that has been created by hard working people.
It is time now to invest in our public safety with no budget hurdles. Every Zambian wants to live in an environment where he or she can count on the Fire Brigade to come to his or her aid when there is a fire. We have seen how helpless we are to deal with fires over the years. We must act now, because fire is like a disease. You may ignore the treatment and survive, but eventually it will catch you unaware and the price is usually much higher to pay.
Published 20 May 2008
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