Growing Threat Of Fire

Come the dry season, and incidents of fire become too frequent across Nepal. These fires sometimes result in fatalities and massive destruction of physical infrastructures as well as vegetation, not to mention the pollution they cause. Although a familiar companion in Nepali households and fields, fire has, of late, become a deadly adversary. 

It is evident from the latest data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) that eight lives were lost and 55 people were injured in fire incidents in one month—from November 11 to December 11—across Nepal. These fatalities, which occurred at the beginning of the dry season, paint a worrying picture of fire incidents this year. 

The country received heavy rainfall in the first week of October, causing massive damage to roads and bridges, and later, rain from October 31 to November 2 also lashed many parts of the country. Immediately after it stopped raining, the country began facing fire incidents, and they are likely to continue throughout the dry season, which normally ends in May. It means the nation needs to be prepared to face them for the next five months. Even the high Himalayan region of Manang is not free from the risk of fire incidents.

The NDRRMA has blamed human negligence, carelessness, and lack of awareness for the increasing fire incidents.   According to a news report published in this daily the other day, an analysis of recent cases showed that many fires were triggered by electrical short-circuits and leaking cooking gas cylinders. Other causes included flammable items kept too close to the cooking area, thatched roofs catching fire, and flames spreading from kitchen stoves. 

Children playing with matches and lighters, clothes catching fire, especially when people sleep near hearths in winter, and burning agricultural residue were found behind some fire incidents. These all suggest that many of the fire incidents are preventable if precautionary measures are taken. Hence, there is a need to generate awareness among people. 

However, such programmes should not be isolated. They demand sustained and coordinated actions across all levels of government and society. In this context, the NDRRMA is right to say that disaster risk reduction and management require multi-sector cooperation, coordination, and participation. It is also equally important to ensure that the awareness materials produced by the NDRRMA reach the intended groups, areas, and communities to help prevent and mitigate fire hazards. 

The one-day community-level awareness workshops on forest fire prevention conducted recently in different settlements of Manang district are thus commendable. The sessions held in Naso and Chame rural municipalities provided locals with detailed information on the causes, types, potential risks and control measures related to wildfires. In the workshop held in Dharapani Bazaar of Naso Rural Municipality-3, 28 locals participated, discussing in detail how forest fires start, the role of human activities, the impact of dry weather, and the extent of possible damage. 

However, the most striking drawback is that many of the local levels, and in some cases, an entire area, lack firefighting machines, in case a fire breaks out even after applying all preventive measures.  These governance challenges must be addressed in time. As the saying 'old habits die hard' goes, disaster preparedness in Nepal often receives attention only after a tragedy. The authorities should make corrections to this by allocating adequate budget, putting fire brigades in a standby position, and preparing manpower to fight fire and other disasters promptly.