Zambia Needs Modern Fire Fighting Equipment

By Kalata News,

Lusaka: A ZAMBIAN fire-fighting and fire prevention company, Fire Com (Z) Limited said it is high time Zambian authorities invested in modern in-building fire-fighting technology that puts fires out before they spread in the building.

Commenting on the reported increase in domestic fires around the country especially in Lusaka, Firecom Limited boss Bruce Mulonda noted that most fires that cause the most damage in Zambia are those fires that are not detected on time and hence are able to spread to the whole building by the time they are noticed.

“Firecom Limited is saddened by the increasing reports of fires in domestic areas as well as commercial buildings in Zambia and we are urging the Zambian authorities to invest in modern fire-fighting technology that suppresses fire before it can do any damage to any property,” says Firecom CEO and fire expert Bruce Mulonda.

Firecom Limited says some fires are not detected on time because they occur in hidden parts of the building such as electric cabinets or in the ceiling or in the electric cable housings or because they start late at night when buildings are empty or owners asleep at the time the fire starts.

Firecom urged the Zambia Government and the local Councils to encourage owners of busy buildings and homes to install automatic fire suppressors in areas that are likely to start a fire.

Recently popular trading places like Young Phiroz and trading markets in Lusaka and the Copperbelt have had fires break out destroying goods and property worth millions of Kwacha.

“Over heating and sparks in electrical connections are the most common cause of fires in electrical installations and the fire usually flows in electrical cables till it catches onto something. These fires have a greater risk of spreading into the entire building and hence have more serious consequences,” says fire expert Bruce Mulonda, Firecom CEO

Firecom has partnered with fire-fighting experts Maus Safety of Sweden, Fie and Security of South Africa, Advance technologies of the UK, GFS of Canada and Protectowire of the US to introduce into Zambia, modern automatic fire fighting products and technology that could be installed anywhere in the building to detect and supress fires before they spread.

“For example MAUS Stixx Pro is a small automatic fire protection unit
extinguishing the fire before it has barely started. When the unit detects heat at 180°C, the device is activated and sends a completely non-toxic and environmentally friendly potassium-based aerosol (smoke) into the space and extinguishes the fire,” says Bruce Mulonda.

Mulonda said “We urge Government and the fire regulatory departments to put in place policy that will compel organisations and building owners to be upgrading their installations periodically to take care of expiry of installations such as the wirings among others.”

Firecom said it has been talking to government, the mines and companies to ensure buildings are installed with the latest smart fire-fighting gadgets such as smoke detectors and fire suppressors that work independently of the building power source and can alert building managers and key staff of a possible fire even before it can be seen.

Mulonda added “Firecom has smoke detectors that use batteries and operate independently of the building power supply system and work by sending a voice note to the building managers of a possible fire outbreak. We also have fire stickers that are placed in electrical distribution boxes that suppress the fire when-ever it occurs in the distribution boxes.”

FireCom is fire-fighting equipment supplier and fire safety Company that has been servicing big companies such the Mines, Electric Supply company and the Zambian Government buildings. Most of its equipment is imported from Canada and Sweden while the rest is manufactured locally.

Zambia’s fire-fighting system is not yet up to date with the fire brigade taking time to respond to fires and if they manage to get there the equipment is not adequate for them to quell the many fires experienced.