Over the last five years, there have been 3,500 house fires that have claimed dozens of lives and caused millions of dollars in property damage, fire prevention officer Jude Rogers said yesterday.
“The stark reality of the situation is that there is an average of 700 house fires annually, that is an average of two fires a day and that is a very telling statistic,” Rogers said.
In the last month alone, fires have gutted homes in Valsayn, Moruga, Marabella, Chaguanas and San Fernando. Rogers said residential fires are not the only challenge, as fire officers are battling more bushfires.
“We have a large amount of fires taking place. Currently, we have an average of 38 bushfires we are dealing with on a daily basis throughout Trinidad and Tobago and that is an alarming figure because ... how many fire appliances do we have to respond to all these fires at any given time?”
He said in the last five years, deaths by fire averaged between 20 and 25 people. He said three major factors contribute to residential fires - electrical faults, human error and arson.
“The fact is we need electricity to function daily but when we do not pay attention to how we interact with electricity in our homes, this is where we get challenges, because the fact of the matter is our electronic devices need to be checked, we have to ensure our circuits are not overloaded,” he said.
Rogers said adjustments are needed to prevent loss of life and property.
“The culture of fire safety in this country really needs to change,” he said.
He said fire patterns also pointed to a lack of adherence to building codes for those in construction.
“You see those buildings which the layman or normal citizens build, where you do not need or may not have submitted your house plans to the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service, that is where we see people doing basically whatever they want to the best of their knowledge.”
Rogers cautioned homeowners against obstructing passageways and expressed concern about the installation of burglar proofing without the required safety features.
He explained: “I want to bring it to your attention, there are keyless burglar-proofing designs. We in the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service work together with the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards and also the small building codes of Town and Country and we have a standard for keyless burglar proof.”
Meanwhile, Association of T&T Insurance Companies (ATTIC) director Baliram Sawh said home insurance appeared to be on the back burner for citizens.
“A lot of people think nothing will happen and paying this premium every month is money they can allocate elsewhere, especially when you have some trying finical circumstances,” Sawh said.
“That prompts people not to see insurance as a primary objective in terms of the dollar spent, but if they have mortgages, they will have no choice but to buy insurance to cover the property.”
Sawh said to rebuild from the ashes, it is critical that the sum insured on one’s home also cover the costs to rebuild at today’s market value prices.
