Members of the public are warned. With the dry spell continuing as part of the dry season, the risk of fire for homes, businesses and the forest is extremely high.
The warning comes from the Deputy Commissioner of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority (F.E.S.A), Va’asiliega Ioane Iosefa, who is urging everyone to be cautious. It follows a mysterious fire that completely gutted a property at Vaitele earlier this week. While F.E.S.A was alerted quickly, they could not stop the blaze from destroying the G.M.A compound.
The fire left the owners of neighbouring properties fearful, especially with the properties containing heavy machinery and countless vehicles.
The investigation is continuing to determine what caused the fire.
Meanwhile, Va’asiliega says you can protect your property, business and loved ones by taking extra precautions, knowing that Samoa is in the middle of its dry season, which will continue for a few more weeks.
“I call upon all the members of our community to work together to avoid situations where lives could be put at risk,” Va’asiliega said. “We all know that the ground is extremely dry and things can very quickly catch fire if we are not careful.”
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Va’asiliega said F.E.S.A has been inundated with calls from different areas of the country for help.
"But most of it has to do with carelessness,” he said.
“People do not pay attention to what they are doing - whether it’s a simple thing like discarding a burning cigarette into a pile of dried leaves, or whether it's putting clothes or other things too close to any source of heat.”
One of the issues F.E.S.A is confronted with regularly is the close proximity of homes. This is especially common in and on the outskirts of the Apia Township where people have relocated to freehold land.
Asked if F.E.S.A is prepared to deal with fires that spread from one building to the next, Va’asiliega said while it is not ideal, they would do the best they can.
“The thing is – some lands are quarter so they [families] build their houses according to the space of the available property. And in some cases, their homes border on the next family’s home.”
These decisions, he said, do not take into account the fire risk.
“It’s important that our people are aware about these things,” he said.
“We can never be too sure.”
Va’asiliega said F.E.S.A is planning to up their awareness programmes to warn people about the risk of fires, and telling them how they can avoid such situations.
“The idea is that people should be aware about what they can do to prevent fires and what they also need to do during an emergency.
“These programmes are excellent tools for the community to prepare themselves.
“Our focus is to assist and encourage everyone to know about fire safety because these things can happen at any time and it’s important for people to know what they can do.”
While Va’asiliega did not have statistics, he confirmed that the number of fires this year has increased from last year.
Some safety tips about fire safety • Do not discard cigarettes from moving vehicles; use ashtrays. With the conditions we have now, lit cigarettes do cause fires and can be disastrous in times of drought and high fire risk.
• Avoid cooking outdoors during this drought season. If you do cook, never leave barbeque grills unattended.
Place your grill on concrete or your driveway away from your home or any structures. If using charcoal or wood, make sure that the fire has been extinguished by soaking it with a garden hose before disposing of the coals.
• During this time, do not burn household trash in barrels.
• Check lawnmowers and farm equipment for properly working spark arresters.
• Mow lawn at least 30-50 feet away from your house and water to create defensible space.
• Cut back or remove any dry and dead landscaping plants or bushes around your home. Clear leaves from your roof and gutters; rake them away from the sides of your home.
• Move anything that will burn far away from structures, items like firewood, compost piles, brush piles, etc.
• Practice fire safety with your family.
• Plan escape routes away from your home by car and foot. Have a meeting place with your family.
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