Very cold and wet conditions are due to hit parts of the country this weekend, but for many people a weekend of hot chocolate and romantic snuggling is a remote thought — finding ways of keeping warm safely is far more pressing.
”Poorer people will try anything to keep warm,” said Malcolm Midgley, spokesperson for Johannesburg’s emergency services.
But instead of providing relief during cold spells, makeshift measures such as illegal electricity connections can be deadly.
Thermostats and trip switches don’t function on illegally connected electricity appliances and they overheat, explained Midgley, and this increases the likelihood of fire.
”The plates just get hotter and hotter,” he said.
Midgley said that braziers, even if well tended, can be deadly when brought into a house.
”They emit noxious fumes and when people cover gaps under doors to keep drafts out, the fumes have nowhere to go. Don’t take braziers inside,” he said.
Midgley implored parents and carers not to leave children unattended near any heat source — ”not even for a short while”.
Créches and areas where there are children should only use panel heaters, which don’t have a direct heat source.
”And keep children away from pots [on stoves],” Midgley warned.
Protect children from burns
According to the Fire Protection Association of Southern Africa, the leading cause of death in children under one is burns. This ranges from a pot of hot water falling on to a child to a child’s clothing being set alight by an open heater.
According to the Paraffin Safety Association of South Africa (PSASA), many of these injuries and deaths are linked to paraffin heaters.
In addition to accidents, a 2003 study by the association showed an alarmingly low safety level in paraffin stoves being sold in South Africa.
According to the PSASA’s Joe Bopape, the minerals and energy ministry is hoping to outlaw unsafe paraffin stoves and an initiative with the South African Bureau of Standards is working on a safety standard for the appliances.
In the meantime, the association advises:
- keep children be kept at least 2m away from paraffin appliances while in use;
- check that components are undamaged and properly assembled before use;
- check that the appliance is in a place where it is not likely to be knocked over;
- leaving a stove on a tablecloth may result in a child pulling the cloth with the stove over himself or herself;
- don’t walk with a burning appliance;
- before use, make sure there is enough fuel in the appliance to avoid refuelling while it is hot;
- wipe up spilt paraffin to avoid a fire hazard;
- keep a bucket of sand in the same room as the appliance with which to put fires out; and
- keep paraffin containers away from children as it is poisonous.
The Liquid Petroleum Gas Association (LPGA) advises people with gas cylinders to:
regularly check hoses and valves;
- not store the cylinder near a direct source of heat;
- have a match already lit before turning open the gas;
- transport the cylinder upright, preventing rolling;
- never replace broken pipes with old garden hose; and
- take any repairs to a dealer.
Like Midgely, the PSASA and the LPGA also stress the importance of ventilation when using heating devices, but warn against draughts that could knock an appliance over and start a fire.
Save energy
South Africa’s Energy Efficiency Campaign, run by Eskom, the National Electricity Regular and the Department of Minerals and Energy, urged South Africans to be part of energy conservation measures this winter.
Among the advice is a reduction in geyser temperature to about 60 degrees Celsius and insulating it with a geyser blanket to reduce the amount of cold water needed to cool a steaming bath.
Taking a shower instead of bathing, not filling a whole kettle with water for one cup of tea and using oil heaters because they are the safest and most economical are other tips for saving energy.
”Before you head for the heater, pull on a sweater and some slippers and if you do have an electric blanket, use it to heat your bed and then turn it off. Falling asleep with an electric blanket on is not only dangerous, it’s a waste of electricity too,” a campaign statement said.
Very cold and wet conditions are expected over the Free State, the southern part of North West, Lesotho and the northern high ground of the Eastern Cape on Sunday, according to the South African Weather Service. — Sapa