Nigeria: Fire Guts Ican Office - THE multi-million naira headquarters office of Institute of Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) on Idowu Taylor Victoria Island Lagos was at the weekend gutted by fire. [AA Urbanisation]

Mozambique: Fire Devours Central Maputo Store - A fire broke out on the premises of the Kayum Centre, a large shop in central Maputo specialising in electrical appliances, early on Sunday morning, causing losses that might run into millions of dollars. [AA Urbanisation]

Pretoria - In an effort to reduce the number of fires during the winter period, the Tshwane Community Safety Department launched a Basic Emergency Safety and Fire Education (BESAFE) centre in Soshanguve, Kopanong Section.

The centre, situated at the Council's Komiki Motubatse Hall, comprises of a tin container that has been turned into a model house.

The house is used to demonstrate how various household appliances should be handled in order that unnecessary fires could be avoided.

These include gas stoves, electrical appliances and paraffin stoves.

"Most of the fires in informal settlement are often caused by poor handling of paraffin stoves and lamps, gas canisters that burst, and faulty electrical appliances, especially illegal connections," the department said.

The centre is part of the Fire Brigade Service's Public Information, Education and Relations (PIER) programme.

Through this programme the Fire Brigade Services embarks on educational and public awareness campaigns to educate communities about the dangers of fire, how to avoid disasters, and how to handle fires.

Nigeria: Fire Razes Delta Broadcasting Service Building - A midnight fire apparently sparked off by electrical fault on Sunday gutted the main building of the Delta Broadcasting Service (DBS) in Warri, commissioned by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on January 18, 2002. [AA Urbanisation]

Ghana: Most Fire Hydrants in Kumasi Not Functional - Fire Officer - The Ashanti Regional Fire Officer, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Mr. Obeng Dankwa Dwamena, has expressed concern about the difficulty his outfit encounters in having access to trouble spots during fire outbreaks, particularly at the Kumasi Central Market. [AA Urbanisation]

Uganda: Watch Out, Disaster Awaits - Kampala's fuel depots located in the Industrial area are also too close to each other that if there was an explosion at one of them, Kampala would probably turn into a big fire ball. [AA Urbanisation]

Nigeria: Makoko Residents And Their Unwanted Guest - Makoko is a slum in Yaba, outskirt of Lagos. Most of the residents live in make-shift houses built with ordinary wood and zinc. As a result, the community is constantly visited by fire. This unwanted visitor often razes the neighbourhood to ashes as it did recently. Yemi Babalola writes [AA Urbanisation]