Fire hydrants can save lives, property
LATEST disasters such as the death of socialite Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure in a horror car accident or the burning down of Chirundu Flats in Belvedere, Harare, have all been caused by fire outbreaks.
From our simple analysis of why Zimbabweans are losing their lives and property due to fires, our basic conclusion is that local authorities have abandoned the installation of fire hydrants as part of their urban planning.
It is rare to see a fire hydrant in Zimbabwe, even today’s children do not know what a hydrant is.
A fire hydrant or firecock is a connection point on which firefighters can connect into a water supply. It is a component of active fire protection.
Every time there is a fire outbreak, you hear the general public saying, “fire brigade came without water”, how do you expect a fire brigade to carry 20 000 litres or more of water to fight a raging fire.
The fire brigade should only be able to connect to fire hydrants.
In Zimbabwe, most places, particularly in cities where a lot of people work and live, fire hazards are a relentless worry.
It is crucial for our local authorities to have fire safety services and systems and a source of water that can be quickly accessed.
To prevent unnecessary deaths and property destruction, fire hydrants provide a stable place for storage and water supply which should be supported by the local authority.
Zimbabwe is now dominated by boreholes and there is now a need to change our laws where fire hydrants are connected to a secondary source that is readily available from underground pipes or perhaps a dam.
According to urban planners, fire hydrants do not operate alone, they are one part of a complex system that has been designed to ensure that an area has complete coverage for fire protection.
Whenever you spot a fire hydrant, it is obvious that it is installed in that location strategically to give that neighbourhood complete access to a water source when needed.
There are two components that make a fire hydrant work, the water supply and a fire hose.
The way that fire hydrants are actually designed and connected gives firefighters the required easy access to connect their equipment and quickly deal with the emergency situation.
We call upon the urban planners and the city engineers to seriously consider the installation of fire hydrants as their top priority.
A fire hydrant is simply a point where people are able to tap into a water supply and use it to assist firefighters in putting out fires.
By connecting a hose to a hydrant, they gain access to all the water they need to douse a burning building. Let’s stop unnecessary deaths and property destruction in Zimbabwe.