Citizens advised to switch off gas heaters before going to bed

Several gas explosions were reported in different areas of the Rawalpindi district last winter, says DEO Rescue-1122

RAWALPINDI:

Rescue-1122 has advised the citizens to properly switch off gas appliances before going to bed to avoid risks of fire and casualties.

According to District Emergency Officer (DEO), Rescue-1122, Rawalpindi Kamran Rashid, the citizens before going to bed should ensure that the room heaters are properly switched off and the gas valve is closed to avoid leakages.

He said that people use gas heaters in airtight rooms during the winter season which might lead to death due to the absence of adequate fresh oxygen intake. The DEO advised the citizens to adopt precautionary measures during winter to avoid gas explosions. "There is a need for launching an awareness campaign among the people about safety protocols as every year in winter, there had been reports of casualties due to incidents of gas explosions caused by gas leakage from appliances, mostly from substandard portable gas heaters."

Several gas explosions were reported in different areas of the Rawalpindi district last winter, he added. The people know little about how to detect gas leakage, what to do in case of fire and how to provide immediate medical assistance to the burn victims before shifting them to a hospital. 'If there is a smell of gas inside your room or shop, then don't smoke or light a match, don't turn on a light, don't operate any electrical appliance, don't use a flashlight or lighter and leave the place immediately. The people should turn off the main gas valve, if possible, leave the doors open, and call the gas or Rescue personnel.'

According to a Rescue-1122 spokesman, the Punjab Emergency Service, Rescue-1122, Rawalpindi rescued 4,102 emergency victims while conducting emergency operations in November and maintained its average response time of less than 7 minutes. He added that out of total 4,442 emergency calls received in the previous month, the Emergency Service dealt with 1,306 road traffic accidents, 80 fire calls, 01 building collapse incident, 110 crime incidents, three cylinder blasts, 439 special rescue operations, and 2,503 medical emergencies.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2022.