One day last month in Voinjama, UN staff stopped work after hearing a fire alarm with duty officer advising staff to evacuate the building. In less than ten minutes all staff gathered at the assembly point. Also, Ghanbatt and Jordan FPU rushed to quell the fire and cordon off the premises. It was an exercise jointly done by the Fire Marshall and the RSO Office in Voinjama to orient staff and emergency personnel of the procedures.

RSO Joefre Panagdato said that “the exercise is not to inconvenience staff as others may argue but to make them knowledgeable of the emergency procedures”. He added that “studies show that casualties are minimized by ten percent if the drills are done on a regular basis.”

Deputy Fire Marshall Lare Kwame added that fire prevention training and drills are part of the Occupational Health and Safety programme to help save lives and properties.

Fire Focal Point Sieh Selli said that “the drills are important although some may have done them in other places. Emergency procedures are situation-dependent and vary from place to place.”

A training session was also conducted and staff members were taught on the basic fire prevention measures and social responsibilities in case of crisis.

Hellen Chikambi of the Corrections Section said she was happy to take part on the training and understood more of the emergency procedures in place. “Now in case fire incidents happen, I know what and where to go.”