Fires have the most devastating impact of all natural disasters that can occur. Anything consumed by fire is irretrievable and cannot be repaired. The only solution that could help is to train enough fire-fighters.
There is no more dangerous job in the world in terms of job description than that of fighting fires. Even people sent to war will have jobs that are described more modestly than those that fire-fighters have. The reason why can perhaps be seen in the impact that a fire can have: if not controlled in-time, fires can run wild and wipe out entire buildings or areas. Planning ahead is better than waiting for disaster to happen.
As fire can pose an immediate danger that can cause massive damages in a short space of time, it is better to have trained fire-fighters on standby all the time. If not, it might be a little too late. Fire-fighters, be it professionals or volunteers, simply need time to assemble, respond and react. The longer this takes the more the fire will spiral out of control.
Fighting and controlling fires can-not be left to untrained individuals. It requires thorough knowledge and understanding of the nature of the fire, its behaviour and of the consequences of unprofessionalism when fighting a fire.
Every company should have enough employees trained to fight fires. If a first-aider or company official fails to save an employee, a life will be lost and the vacancy can be filled the next day to continue productivity. But when fire-fighters fail to arrive, or do their job, it remains to be seen whether productivity could take place at all.
Fire-fighters have to be trained and their training updated continuously. The cohesion of the team also needs to be maintained. Most importantly, fire-fighters have to be kept up to date about how to fight certain fires or fires that consume certain materials. Lastly, fire-fighters also have to be familiar with fighting fires in any condition, including inclement weather, at altitude and in an urban environment.
Companies should never compromise on allocating budgets and resources to fight disasters, and definitely not on budgets to combat fires. No company can afford to leave the provision of fire-fighting services up to the municipality, as an article in The Star newspaper last Friday made evident. The newspaper revealed that nearly one in three fire-fighting trucks in Johannesburg is in for service while some fire-fighters make excuses to stand down when fighting fires with malfunctioning equipment. But this situation is not unique to the biggest economic hub of the country.
Municipal fire-fighters unable or unwilling to tackle a fire will certainly make a good headline. But the company owner who experiences this himself will find little comfort when reading the newspaper the morning after. He will only be interested in finding a new job.
Don't take chances. You can 'fire a fire-fighter' all by yourself but you will never be able to 'fight a fire' all by yourself.
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