The recent death of a 17-year-old schoolgirl, who was reportedly electrocuted to death while attempting to plug in an electric sewing machine to a power socket in an unsafe manner, highlights the need to build awareness about household safety, and safety in general. 

It is reported that the teenage student had attempted to connect wires from the motor of the sewing machine to a wall switch socket but was unsuccessful. She was then electrocuted while attempting to modify the plug by cutting it and then inserting the wires directly into the socket. Though rushed to hospital, she was pronounced dead on admission. Over the last few years, there have been a number of reports about household fires, triggered by charging multiple devices on one power socket. The rising use of mobile phones and other personal entertainment devices among the younger generation, will likely see such tragedies repeat itself. As such, awareness and regulations are likely needed to ensure the risk is mitigated.   

Experts, the Fire Brigade and Police have repeatedly urged parents and guardians of children to exercise more vigilance over their young ones at home following a rise in fatal accidents that have claimed the lives of several children recently. The need for awareness programmes on safety, both for children and parents/guardians, grows in parallel to the risks children face. And such risks grow as unplanned urbanisation gathers ground, with millions moving towards cities, which were not planned or built to cater to such a population density. The electrocution tragedy of the teenage girl, could have led to a bigger tragedy if the house caught on fire, causing multiple casualties. 

In another incident, an 8-year-old boy at Hettipola was killed when a concrete statue of a giraffe that was in the home garden fell onto him. The victim had tried to climb onto the heavy statue while playing outside by himself when it toppled over onto him. Meanwhile, a 9-year-old child drowned after falling into an unprotected well in Gampola. He had been playing outside the house when his parents were not at home. After coming home and not seeing the child nearby, his mother searched for him and found his body floating in the unprotected well near the home. He was admitted to the Gampola Base Hospital but was declared dead on admission. Reports of such incidents keep dotting our news, and has become commonplace today. It should not be allowed to be so.

According to some health experts, one of the main causes of death and hospitalisation of children are accidental injuries caused to them. Health experts and Police are urging parents and guardians to exercise more vigilance over their children at home following a rise in fatal accidents that have claimed the lives of several children recently. A majority of such accidents can be avoided, experts say. According to the Police, in many such cases, the accident has been attributed to the negligence of adults in the vicinity or the parents of the child at risk. The Police point to numerous instances where they respond to children drowning in unprotected wells, and blame parents and adults for not taking even the most basic safety arrangements to ensure such well’s are protected, and difficult for children to access by themselves. It is timely for the Government to consider a robust awareness programme for adults and children regarding safety and wellbeing of minors.

Further, another course of action is to update the building code for houses, apartment and commercial structures, that will introduce built in safety features for the urban and suburban population. Last year, the Colombo Fire Brigade told The Daily Morning that: “The fire checklist, and fire regulations not being followed when houses and urban structures are built, is a major concern.” There is a new building code which is being drafted, which may improve the situation for new buildings built after it comes into effect. But what will happen to older buildings, and to the majority of rural houses, many which are often not constructed and fitted by qualified and accredited builders and electricians, remains a concern.

Given the weakened economic standing most Sri Lankans find themselves in today, and the many hardships faced by households, awareness building and teaching safety and responsible use of household infrastructure at school and via the media, may be a prudent course of action for the Government.  Meanwhile, an updated building code and strict measures to enforce compliance would see past tragedies not repeated.