HOW TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL FIRE OUTBREAK IN THIS NEW YEAR 2022

For those who could not follow my YouTube video on this topic, you can read through so that we can all make our environment electrically safe and free from fire outbreak in this year 2022. But if you still want the videos you can click here: https://youtu.be/NIJFDR7px3w

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Electrical fire outbreak has become a major discuss among professionals within the built industry, the Lagos State Fire and Safety Services has said that 75% of most fire outbreak in buildings are as a result of electrical faults. With these series of fire outbreak in the years past, I expect the federal government through the federal fire service to commence serious awareness campaign and possible enforcement of some of the fire safety regulations to prevent fire damages which ranges from the loss of lives, properties to the tunes of billions of naira and even the loss of sources of livelihood.

𝐀𝐧 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰:

1. Feb. 28, 2021: Oregbeni Market, Benin City, Edo State

2. Mar. 2, 2021: Nigerian Army Headquarters, Abuja

3. Mar. 5, 2021: Onitsha Plastic Market, Anambra State

4. Mar. 22, 2021: Tudun Wada Market, Gusau, Zamfara State

5. Apr. 8, 2021: Mofoluku Area, Lagos State

6. Apr. 26, 2021: Gas plant, Somolu, Lagos State

7. May 27, 2021: Footwear Company, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos State

8. Dec. 27, 2021: Residential and Shops in Ebonyi State

9. Apr. 15, 2020: Corporate Affairs Commission, Maitama Abuja

10. Apr. 8, 2020: Accountant General Office, Abuja

11. May 20, 2020: Nigerian Postal Service, Abuja

12. Jun. 22, 2020: Oba Market, Benin City, Edo State

13. Jul. 14, 2020: World Trade Centre, Abuja

14. Aug. 23, 2020: Adeniji Adele Market, Lagos State

15. Sep. 14, 2020: INEC Office, Ondo State

16. Aug. 13, 2019: Uwelu Motor Spare Parts Market, Benin City, Edo State

17. Aug 25, 2019: Shops in Nguru, Yobe State

18. Oct. 21, 2019: Santana Market, Benin City, Edo State

19. Oct. 28, 2019: Federal Inland Revenue Service headquarters, Abuja

20. Nov. 5, 2019: Mandilas Section of Balogun Market, Lagos

21. Dec. 22, 2019: Ekiosa Market, Benin City, Edo State

With these in mind, it has become necessary to give steps or ways by which these electrical fire can be prevented.

𝟏. 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧: Electrical design are pre-designs necessary prior to the commencement of the construction of a building. This design takes into consideration the expected load of the building and make adequate calculations for its cable sizing, protection devices, distribution board type and ratings amongst other benefits. Unfortunately, most buildings were constructed without an electrical design thereby putting it at a very great disadvantage in terms of electrical safety. So to prevent electrical fire outbreak this year, it is advised that proposed buildings must be accompanied with a standard electrical design/drawing while existing buildings without an electrical design should contact a professional engineer to come inspect their building and carry out power audit and compare with the installed cable size and protection devices to ensure it is within the statutory requirement. This is required for both residential and commercial buildings especially our public markets and shopping complexes.

𝟐. 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦: This year, it is very important to take your earthing very serious. Most earth pits have not been tested or treated since it was installed, thereby defeating the purpose of its installation especially if it has failed. A good earthing system ensures that fault current flows through it without causing any damage to your equipment or possibly fire outbreak. Earth resistance test is advised to be carried out at least once a year for residential buildings, whereas for commercial buildings it is expected that the test be carried out at least twice a year (usually during the dry and raining season).

𝟑. 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬: These are devices installed in a building to detect and extinguish fire whenever there is an outbreak. It also include manually operated cylinder fire extinguishers, which are expected to be installed at some strategic locations within the building. The most used fire protection devices are smoke detectors with break glass and fire alarm, fire hose reels and fire hydrants. It is expected that all residential buildings should have at least an installed smoke detector while commercial buildings should include fire hose reels as well as fire hydrants.

𝟒. 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦: This is usually triggered by the smoke or heat detector when there is a fire outbreak, it uses water to suppress the fire usually during the early stage of the fire outbreak. Therefore, it is advised that buildings mostly hotels and other commercial buildings invest in fire sprinkler system this year to help avoid any form of damage in case of an inferno.

𝟓. 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦: This is expected to be installed on all major commercial/industrial buildings. Unlike the fire sprinkler system, the suppression system does not make use of water but uses fire suppression liquids which contains chemical agents such as FM200 and are pressurized with nitrogen. The gaseous agent is initially condensed in liquid form and stored in compact cylinders, this makes the system easy to transport and store. So commercial and industrial buildings should look into this system and install in their facilities.

𝟔. 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤: Considering the slow response time of the federal/state fire service, especially to markets and other commercial business environments, it is advisable that market unions look into investing in fire fighting truck so that they can extinguish any fire outbreak within the market before the arrival of the state/federal fire service to avoid loss of goods and properties which usually runs into millions of naira.

𝟕. 𝐏𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬: This year, all Nigerians are advised to pay attention to any electrical warning signs in the building such as faulty socket points, smell of melting cable, flickering of lighting bulb, lights that dim when using certain appliances, appliances that gives dim light even during power outage and electrical points that feels hot during usage such as sockets, switches or fuse box. These are signals of electrical faults and should be attended to immediately to avoid any form of failure that might lead to a fire outbreak.

𝟖. 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬: Circuit breakers on the distribution board should not be overloaded but must stick to the electrical design. Most distribution boards do not have spares, so when any future connections is to be included, most electricians will just add such connections to an existing circuit breaker without considering its rating, this should be avoided this year. For commercial building, it is advised that extension boxes should be avoided, this usually leads to the overloading of the 13A socket, hence tripping the circuit breaker in which it is connected to.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧:

I wish to conclude by saying that electrical fire disaster can be prevented if adequate safety precautions are carried out, I have made it my call to ensure that this year 2022 will be the year with the least fire incident as a result of electrical fault by constantly reminding us of the necessary things to be done to remain electrically safe.

Thank you.

Darlington Okoka

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