Safeguard urges activation of fire and medical emergency panic buttons

The fire that engulfed Grenfell Tower in London recently, resulting in the tragic deaths of at least 80 people and rendering hundreds homeless, has brought into sharp focus the devastating effect that fire can have when properties catch fire.

While Zimbabwe may not have seen a fire as dramatic or as devastating for such a large number of people as this, the effects of even one home catching fire is devastating for those who lose not only their home but everything in it.

How much can be saved when a home or other property catches fire depends largely on how quickly the fire can be brought under control, which in turn may depend on how quickly the fire brigade can be called and what others can do to try to contain the fire until the fire engines arrive.

Safeguard Alarms is encouraging all its clients to have the fire alarm and medical emergency buttons on their security alarm keypads activated so that they can sound an alarm in a fire or medical emergency and, if they are rapid response customers, obtain immediate assistance from Safeguard, which has direct radio links to the fire department and Emergency Medical Rescue Ambulance Service (EMRAS).

All Safeguard alarm keypads have the fire and medical emergency alarm buttons, with the option to have them hooked up to the alarm system on request free of charge.

"In the event of a fire, when the fire button is pressed a distinctive fire alarm is sounded, alerting those in and around the building to the fire, and a fire alarm signal is received at our control centre," said Safeguard Alarms managing director Reason Chitiva.

"We immediately inform the fire brigade through the direct radio link we have with it, ensuring the fastest possible response to the fire. In addition, the nearest rapid response team is sent to the premises to do what it can to assist.

"The same is true of the medical emergency facility. When the medical emergency button is pressed a medical alert signal is received at our control centre. EMRAS is contacted, through our direct link, to send an ambulance. A Safeguard rapid response team is also dispatched to the premises.

"All our rapid response team members are trained in fire drills and First Aid. They are not paramedics but their First Aid training enables them to provide some immediate assistance, should they arrive before the ambulance.

"Our direct link with the fire and ambulance department ensures the fire brigade or ambulance will arrive in the quickest possible time.

"We are, therefore, encouraging all our customers to take advantage of the fire and medical emergency facility which is available on all Safeguard alarm keypads. They just need to contact us with their request and we will hook up their fire and medical emergency buttons to the alarm system.

"Not only is there no charge for this, there is no charge for the service we provide in alerting the emergency services and attending the scene ourselves to do what we can to help. Having these buttons connected is easy, free and may save lives and property," he said.

"In fact so useful a service have some of our clients found it to be that we now hook up these emergency buttons as part of our standards alarm installation."