Paraffin safety again on the agenda
By Tabisa Mntengwana
7 November 2008
PARAFFIN safety was on everyone’s lips when the City’s health and public safety directorate, the Paraffin Safety Association of Southern Africa (Pasasa) and various government departments held an awareness day in Cambridge.
The day kicked off with a demonstration of a shack burning down, with firefighters showing how they extinguish the blaze.
“The day is set to create awareness among paraffin users in order to reduce the number of disasters that [happen] because of paraffin,” said Boniswa Mzimba, the municipality’s health promotion manager.
Gathered at the community hall on Thursday, 30 October were members of the South African Police Service, Red Cross and Department of Home Affairs.
Red Cross representatives spoke about the three degrees of burning and how to treat burns. “Burns generally come from extreme exposure to heat or severe cold and these burns look much the same and are treated with similar methods depending on the degree of burn,” said Nolusindiso Bam.
On the same topic, Felicity Mbambani, Pasasa’s regional assistant, said most burns were caused by carelessness, with adults allowing young children to cook and clean the house, “at times using paraffin stoves to cook”.
Speaking about the importance of the day, a ward committee member, Hazel Ntlokwana, said: “The demonstration and information we received here will be useful to us since we live in shacks and mostly use paraffin as a source of energy.”
She added that the area had a high number of shacks fires during the festive season. “This is the season when people are busy celebrating and enjoying themselves and are bound to be careless.”
About Pasasa, Mzimba was “privileged to be working with an organisation that advocates for the rights of paraffin users and other related issues; this will help us (Buffalo City) to identify problems easily”.
The day ended with a demonstration from the municipal disaster management department, which told people to report emergencies to the municipal’s 24-hour emergency number, 043 705 9000.
“We are aiming to educate local people about the safety and risks related to the use of paraffin appliances,” Mzimba said.
Local traditional dancers and choirs from schools around the Cambridge area entertained residents and officials alike.
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