There was a gas blast in a residential building in Ashgabat on 16 July 2019 that damaged some apartments and caused various degrees of injuries to seven people. Following the incident, the government of Turkmenistan has launched a countrywide awareness campaign.
The teams from the utilities department and the ministry of interior are going door to door, explaining the basic safety precautions in the use of natural gas, and inspecting the gas connections and appliances for safety compliance.
A pamphlet in the Turkmen and Russian language is given to everyone with a gas connection, outlining the safety measures and contact details in case of any accident or emergency:
- If there is a smell of gas in the apartment or in other rooms, please, call the gas emergency service by phone 04 or 004 (from cellular phone).
- Before the arrival of the emergency service, don’t light matches, smoke, turn on or off electrical appliances.
- Before turning on the lights in the room, make sure there is no smell of gas.
- Open the window when using gas appliances.
- The malfunctions in gas appliances should be eliminated by employees of the gas services, tel: 920502.
- Close the tap after the use of the gas appliance.
The electronic and print media – TV, radio, newspapers, periodicals – are also running similar campaigns to raise mass awareness of the hazards inherent in the use of natural gas and how to avoid them.
A similar campaign is being run to enlighten the people about the common mistakes made in the use of electricity and how to avoid them. /// nCa, 23 July 2019