Dear Editor,
With each incident of fire we bemoan the inadequacy of our fire prevention and fire extinguishment systems. What about the volumes of critiques, appraisals, and recommendations that exist from past fires? They must pass for nought as the systems continue to degrade.
As a professional member of the American Society of Safety Engineers my casual observation indicates that fire safety does not occupy a prominent place in our developmental plans. Our approach seems to be one based on zero or miniscule probability that a fire will occur. Lack of fire extinguishment systems and fire prevention in our schools will bear this out. This is the starting point in moulding our youths in fire safety.
Establishing effective fire safety systems poses a major financial challenge. In the context of our economy we will have to allocate our scarce resources to achieve the optimum benefit. The approach will require education and training, enforcing our building and electrical codes and standards, installing fire hydrants, chemical extinguishment systems, sprinklers, water reservoirs, fire extinguishers, fire barriers, sand buckets and/or other fire retardants, and acquiring fire fighting equipment.
In Georgetown, especially, we can begin by ensuring that our canals are desilted and can be used as water reservoirs for fire fighting purposes. Loss prevention through fire safety must be an integral part of the business of our insurance companies and fire safety must form part of the curriculum in our schools and colleges.
Yours faithfully,
Abraham David
