With barely 30 days to the deadline for all public buildings in the country to comply with new fire safety regulations, most complexes in Kigali are yet to be fully compliant – five months after the publication of the new rules.

This is a worrying revelation considering that many public buildings and commercial facilities have in the past been affected by fires, causing huge losses.

It is, therefore, unacceptable that some public and commercial entities are not taking the fire safety regulations seriously. 

We must learn from our past experience and appreciate that fires are a real threat to businesses and the economic development of the country. While fires may not be totally prevented, precautionary measures can reduce the risk of fire outbreaks.

This is something we must all take seriously; members of the public or those looking for space to rent for business should shun premises that don’t have basic fire safety measures in place.

It’s even alarming that many of the buildings inspected did not have basic facilities like fire extinguishers while some key installations like hospitals were found to have expired fire extinguishers. While it is understandable that some of the equipment or minimum requirements might be expensive for some facilities, it should not be an excuse. A fire outbreak is far more costly than preparing for the eventuality through putting in place fire safety measures.

To prevent fire outbreaks at public buildings, public spaces, as well as transport and storage facilities, authorities should move fast and enforce the instructions or at least work closely with building owners to help them comply with the regulations as soon as possible.

Banks too can come in handy to offer credit to firms struggling to install these facilities. We can’t afford to have a repeat of the frequent fire outbreaks which found us unprepared and left many a businesses on their knees.