Stop putting gas cylinders inside kitchens, burns expert warns

AN expert in burns treatment, Dr Ayodele Iyun, has said  domestic burns cases from the explosion of gas cylinders brought to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan has increased by 50 per cent in the last two years.

Dr Iyun, the consultant in charge of the hospital’s burns unit, said the upsurge in domestic burns cases was linked to people shifting from the use of kerosene to cooking gas.

He declared that in the last two weeks, two women with over 65 per cent burns had been admitted to the hospital due to gas explosion, adding “almost every month, we now have at least two major burns cases.”

The expert declared that over 90 per cent of the cases were due to camping gas cylinders exploding, noting that often only severe burn cases come to the hospital for treatment, declared that this upsurge in domestic burns due to gas explosion had also been noticed in other burn units, especially in the South Western Nigeria.

“Occasionally, we have cases of industrial gas explosion, like the case that occurred in Eastern Nigeria, but now we are having terrible incidences of burns from domestic cooking gas crippling into the South West.

“I can’t say the exact figure, but in terms of burns due to gas explosion, the increase is almost 50 per cent, especially domestic gas explosion. In fact, about 90 per cent of them are camp gas cylinder explosions,” he declared.

He added that the cases were more in women than men, declaring “so, we now have fewer cases of kerosene burns, it is now gas.”

Dr Iyun, stressing the need to prevent this incidence because the outcome of massive burns was not too good, advised that Nigerians should desist from keeping gas cylinders in their kitchens.

According to him, “what is now important is education; people need to be aware of the dangers of using cooking gas. They need to know how to use it properly.  Government must ensure that they are not supplying faulty gas cylinders. A faulty gas cylinder will most likely leak and this can lead to an explosion.

“People need to take precautionary measures, especially when changing cylinders and also to ensure that before they ignite, they make sure that there is no gas leaks.”