What (not) to do when an electric pole falls on your house.

Here are some presumptions…where there is smoke there is fire as sure as when an electric pole rots it topples over and if it is situated in a densely populated area, said pole and accompanying power lines will collapse on a house or two or three which will be destroyed in the ensuing blaze. The least of your worries will be the property losses if this occurs at night, there may be fatalities. However if it occurs at say 2pm mid afternoon on a working day, you will only be counting the cost of possessions lost in the fire.

The only music that plays when the roof is on fire are the sirens of the fire truck that arrives to put the fire out. In the ensuing commotion its easy for you to lose your head. In this event this is a series of blog posts offering advice on what (not) to do, from personal experience.

@the scene

Statements to Police

Picture the scene, TV news camera crews, smoke billowing, babies crying , neighbours in their multitude offering a helping hand either putting out the fire or rescuing what’s left of your possessions. The fire truck arrives, uniformed police are at the scene and they want to speak to you.You answer their questions as they write down your responses. This is what they call a statement. However this is not enough in Uganda, because of our peculiar circumstances. The fire brigade is a division of the police but it is not the police therefore it is a mistake to think that one statement will do for all. The statement you make at the scene is invariably a statement to the fire brigade. They all look and dressalike, true but they are not alike. Therefore, you must head to the area police station as soon as possible and make an official statement.

PS: It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to get the names of the officers at the scene, the police in Uganda, wear their names on their shirts and invariably have mobile phones, so take their names and numbers down. That also goes for any representative of the power company, in our case UMEME, who makes it to the scene.

Photographic Evidence

This means taking pictures of the scene. Officers from the police and fire department as well as from UMEME will take pictures at the scene to put in their reports. It’s also important that you take pictures of your own because the police, fire department and UMEME will not give theirs to you. Also if the cause of the fire is a falling power line, then its not your fault but the power company’s fault and the pictures are evidence in any case of negligence you may or may not bring against UMEME. More importantly if you are going to claim compensation from UMEME you need pictures to show the extent of the damage you suffered that must be compensated.

PS: If you don’t have a camera, use the one on your phone or call any one you know that has a camera and ask him/her to the scene to take pictures and pay for these services, they are essential.