The old adage: “Your best friend can be your worst enemy” can certainly hold true for fires. In fact, man’s discovery and eventually being able to control it has perhaps been singly the most important spark in the process of modernisation and industrialisation.

Winslow C. Johnson in his paper “The Early Domestication of Fire” points out:

“Fire gave great advantages to whoever first tamed it. At night, it provided protection from the predators that preyed on pre-humans. It could prove a powerful aid in hunting by improving visibility and stimulating secondary growth of edible plants favoured by game. Fire provides the light necessary to use dark, damp caves as shelter. Most crucially, it provided the warmth necessary for humans to spread out of Africa. It is difficult to imaging the hairless H. erectus living in Northern Europe without knowledge of controlled fire.”

He adds: “The most compelling evidence that early H. erectus managed fire comes from Kenya. There, at Koobi Fora, 1.6 million year old orange patches of earth contain clues about the origins of man-made fire. As with all such finds, it is necessary to demonstrate that these fires were the result of deliberate actions by pre-humans and not the result of a natural event such as a lightning strike. Two features of the patches at Koobi Fora provide highly persuasive evidence that H. erectus controlled fire. The first is the crystalline melting of earth indicating that the fires at these sites burned at around 400 °C. The second is the composition of the plant matter used for fuel, as indicated by phytolith analysis.”

However, in the modern world fires, both natural and man-made have wreaked havoc resulting in huge losses of life and property, as well as being responsible for erasing crucial pieces of history which cannot be recovered.

According to official statistics the U.S. has one of the highest fire death rates in the modern world. In 1998, the U.S. fire death rate was 15.2 deaths per million in the population.

In the year 2000 there was 370,000 home fires in the United States. The result of those fires was 20,000 deaths and burn injuries combined. Just think how many people from around the world die or are injured daily due to home fires. It has been shown that children and the elderly are especially at risk in home fires. This is due to the fact that our children and the elderly are less able to escape a fire. We can improve the chances that our family will survive a home fire by installing smoke alarms and practicing fire safety and how to exit when the alarm sounds.

Each year, approximately 100 firefighters are killed in duty-related incidents.

Every year, fire kills more Americans than all natural disasters combined.

Fire is the third source of accidental deaths in the home; it has been seen that at least 80 percent of all fire deaths occur in residences.

Each year approximately 2 million fires are reported. Countless others go unreported, causing additional injuries and property loss.

Property losses due directly to fires are estimated at $8.6 billion annually.

The leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries in the U.S. is cooking. Cooking fires often result from unattended cooking and human error, rather than mechanical failure of stoves or ovens.

Careless smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths. Smoke alarms, smolder-resistant bedding and upholstered furniture are significant fire deterrents.

The second leading cause of residential fires and deaths due to fires is heating. However, heating fires are a larger problem in single family homes than in apartments. Unlike apartments, the heating systems in single family homes are often not professionally maintained.

Arson is both the third leading cause of residential fires and residential fire deaths. In commercial properties, arson is the major cause of deaths, injuries and dollar loss.

In the case of man made fires it is so unfortunate that in most cases they are preventable but carelessness, irresponsible behaviour, faulty electrical circuits, young children being left unattended by adults etc. are some of the common causes of man made fires.

Here in Guyana, the issue of frequent fires and their associated destruction is becoming increasingly one of great concern. For this year alone, almost in every month there has been at least one fire-the most recent being the one in Regent Street which saw a couple of business places razed to the ground resulting in hundreds of millions in losses. A few days before, a house at Boeraserie was destroyed by a mysterious fire. A couple of months ago the Ministry of Health was destroyed by fire in a clear case of arson and shortly after that Region 3 Education Department building was engulfed in flames.

So it is critical that some more attention be paid to the operations of the Guyana Fire Service which over the years has been coming under increasing pressure with the greater frequency of fires.

On this note it is good too see that efforts are being made to boost the capacity of the Fire Service as it recently received a number of fire trucks and other equipment, and as soon as resources allow it is likely that the government would provide more support.

However, it would be wise to simultaneously focus of fire awareness and prevention and building capacity within the Fire Service. As the former is the key in curbing the number of disasters caused by fires which is an imperative if we are to minimise human and material losses.