Police cautions against careless starting fires

{Rwanda National Police (RNP) has urged the public to be cautious against any careless activity that can lead to fire outbreaks which harm lives and property.
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The message stems from an incident that occurred on December 27, when a residential house in Gisagara District, Nyanza Sector, Higiro Cell, caught fire destroying part of the house and belongings.

Although the fire did not claim any lives, the Police Spokesperson Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Celestin Twahirwa urged the public to ensure that they always keep flammable substances outside of their homes.

He, however, commended neighbours of Clement Nyirinkwaya, the owner of the destroyed house, for hurriedly intervening and putting out the fire.

“Fire plagues are usually unplanned unless in the cases of arson, and can be avoided if residents are more vigilant. Causes of fire outbreaks are mainly due to recklessness, like leaving unattended burning candles, keeping inflame substances and materials in residential houses, over loading electrical appliances and use of substandard electrical wires, therefore it is paramount that the public know how to avoid causing fires,” he said. noting that information sharing through community policing has led to improved safety and security throughout Rwanda.

He added that Police has the expertise and tools to combat fires and rescue people who may be trapped inside burning buildings; this calls for more partnership through timely provision of information.

“Always report to police immediately, ask people to quickly evacuate the facility that may be on fire . The public should as well act |responsibly by taking precautions and strong partnership through timely information sharing can prevent fire outbreaks from costing lives and damaging large amounts of property,” said ACP Twahirwa.

Police has a fully fledged Fire and Rescue Brigade, with standby firefighters trucks in Kigali and one Fire station in each province ready for any intervention whenever a fire is reported.

Call Police on toll free lines 111 and 112, as well as mobile lines 0788311120, 0788311224, 0788311657 and 0788311335 are always available for anyone to call in case of a fire outbreak.