V5 - SAFETY & SECURITY, By Malea Hoepf

Playing with Fire
By Malea Hoepf

Over the summer, my host families suffered a terrible tragedy. A candle fell over in the bedroom, which led to the destruction of their house, and the death of a really great kid. It was a completely preventable accident, and it has made me think a lot about fire safety here in Rwanda. At Peace Corps Safety and Security Officer Gloriosa Uwimpuhwe‘s suggestion, I‘m sharing some information with all of you.

First of all, even though houses are cement and brick, fires can still be incredibly destructive. The mattresses we have here are extremely flammable, ―like petrol,‖ someone told me. So are the nylon curtains that most of us have, which can catch the wooden ceiling panels on fire. I have also seen a least one child at site that was seriously burned from a mosquito net that caught on fire. While the following safety tips may seem obvious, they bear repeating.

• Don‘t leave candles or fires unattended.
• Never bring a candle into the bedroom – bring a lantern if you must. Gloriosa says that the rule in her household is that when the power is out, the bedroom should be for sleeping only.
• Don‘t put candles directly on the surface of your furniture; always use a sturdy candle holder (i.e., it's not enough to use a drop of wax to keep the candle upright, no matter if it's what everyone else in Rwanda does).
• Don‘t leave candles by the window where the wind can knock them down, or they can catch the curtains on fire.
• For those of us with electricity, we know that it‘s unpredictable, so be careful about leaving things plugged in, especially overnight. PCVs have had electrical fires with kettles and power strips that were left plugged in, even when they weren‘t being used.

I‘m sure that there are lots of things I‘m forgetting, but I just wanted to share this with you, especially because I am guilty breaking almost all of those rules at some point. Also, for those of you with health clubs or otherwise work with children, fire and electrical safety can be an important topic for people in any age group, but especially children and their parents. Following and sharing simple precautions can prevent injury to ourselves, as well as help protect our friends and neighbors.