By: Alieu Ceesay

The regional disaster coordinator in the Upper River Region (URR) has disclosed that fire outbreaks accounted for 70% of the disasters in URR. He said due to frequent fire outbreaks, they are planning to develop a regional fire policy that would address the alarming rate of fire incidents in the region.

Mawdo Amadou Jallow made this disclosure in an interview with our reporter on Monday at his office in Basse Mansajang. According to him, the draft policy is expected to be complete in two-weeks and will focus mainly on response, risk reduction and recovery.

Jallow raised eyebrows on the increase in domestic fire outbreaks in the region. He thus noted that the policy will give them the direction on how to go about curbing the problem. The regional disaster coordinator advised locals in the region to be cautious of fire, lamenting that most of the time the cause of fires are not established by the affected victims.

The URR disaster coordinator also revealed to our reporter that in URR, 64 households, comprising 694 people were affected by disaster in 2013, out of which, 37 households were assisted with food and non-food items. He lauded the intervention of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, UNFPA, UNICEF, Muslim Aid The Gambia and the Government of The Gambia.

He noted that 2013 had more disaster victims than 2012 as a result of increased fire outbreaks in the region. While describing the relation between his office and the local authorities as ‘perfect’, Jallow called on the authorities, particularly the Basse Area Council to give more support to those affected by disastes.