Main Feature: The horrible fires that punctuate E. Africa and their bizarre realities

- Can the damage be minimised? It takes more than nerve to comprehend the harrowing realities that can befall mankind within a blink of an eye. What is disturbing are the circumstances surrounding such bizarre occurrences. Some happen without any human input and in such cases noone can mitigate or have any control in their happening. They are called natural disasters. But what is more heart breaking is the fact that some of these tragedies that haunt us are at times self-inflicted, in that we bring them on to our selves accruing from our blatant carelessness, greed or misguided curiosity. Following closely the circumstances surrounding the Nakumatt Supermarket inferno in Kenya, one cannot fail but notice the flaws in the security and emergency services that punctuated this tragedy. There has been a lot of blame shifting, the power company maintaining that their lines did not cause the fire and instead blames the supermarket’s generator as having been faulty. However, regardless of who is to blame, the supermarket located in the south of Nairobi was completely destroyed by the fire and over 40 people are reported to have perished in the inferno. Quoting The Earth Times, some eye witnesses claimed the supermarket doors were locked, to avoid looting and perhaps this narrowed the chances of the people trapped in the raging inferno from escaping. A company statement which was issued after said the store was fully equipped with fire safety mechanisms and had been installed with advanced fire/smoke detectors, now one wonders how it all happened in the first place. Despite all that in place the operation to put out the fire went on for the next 24 hours from the time the fire broke out. Daily Nation, the largest newspaper in Kenya, remarked on the way the fire was handled and responded by saying, “It is fair to say that ours is a modern city with an 18th century fire-fighting infrastructure.” Sad tales, pain-stricken faces and smouldering debris punctuate the ugly Nakumatt tragedy scene. Families stand in groups as they mourn their loved ones and console each other, hoping that their missing kin are well. “If doors were open as they are claiming my cousin would have been here with me,” says a woman identified only as Alice. “My cousin called me and the only thing he said was ‘there is a fire at Nakumatt and we have been told to pay before we can get out,’” she adds sobbing. “This is unfair!” another woman mourns. Just as everyone was getting to terms with the tragedy surrounding the cruel demise of over 40 lives and billions of property that perished in a fire outbreak which befell Nakumatt, another inferno involving a ruptured fuel tank occurred. According to Reuters, the death toll from an oil spill blaze in central Kenya had risen to 111 last Sunday, making it one of the east African nation’s worst disasters of recent times. Reports say the fire broke out after hundreds of people gathered to collect spilled fuel. The cause of the fire is not clear. Some reports say it was caused by a lit cigarette, but others say it had been started deliberately. Some allegations point to a person who got annoyed with the way they were being chased away by security operatives, that he is the one who lit the fire, while others say the fire started accidentally. In Uganda, a chain of schools have undergone the cruel fate of fires/arson which have claimed lives of innocent school children and destroyed property. In all incidences, the point is not fire breaking out because lapses in safety precautions and accidents do happen all the time though. However, the damage in some cases can not be entirely justified due to the sinister circumstances surrounding them. The question remains how are governments positioned to counteract these disasters? Are the institutions in charge of these tasks competent enough to play their role? Are they well facilitated with all it takes to neutralize these tragedies? Are attitudes well placed? Or are all governments still using 18th Century fire fighting techniques in these ever growing towns, cities and populations? The SundayMag talked to the Minister of Infrastructure Linda Bihire, to find out whether there are precautions and structural mechanisms to mitigate such dangers. She disclosed that the Ministry has launched a safety precaution standard to be followed in all constructions including houses for settlement and other big constructions. “We are concerned about safety…and protection against fire is one of the safety precautions we catered for. The comprehensive safety precaution measures we have launched in the construction standards are expected to mitigate most dangers associated with structures,” said Bihire during telephone interview. In a statement released concerning the safety regulations in place clearly states that all buildings shall be designed, and constructed, so that an occupant shall be protected against fire, and shall be easily evacuated from the building. Protection against fire shall be capable of minimizing the out-break or spread of fire to any adjacent building, and retain sufficient structural stability in the event of the building catching fire. It adds that Walls of any building, which separates one tenant from another, shall have a fire resistance rating of not less than 1.0 hour. A partition wall in any building intended to be used as a place of detention or hospital, or residence for persons with disabilities shall have a fire resistance rating of not less than 1.0hour. All public buildings shall be provided with two or more entirely independent emergency routes or escape routes, which shall be arranged so that one route shall remain usable or accessible at all times. The regulations go a head to ensure things like wiring and electrical Installations of any building and these shall be done according to acceptable standards. Main-switches shall be easily accessible and situated adjacent to the consumer control unit, circuit breakers shall be provided on each line of conductor of the supply mains at the point of entry. Switchboards shall be located in dry and ventilated spaces. Switchboards and distribution boards for all circuits and sub-circuits shall be protected against over current and earth faults and so on. Failure to comply with terms of a notice or conditions issued under these Regulations will be liable on conviction to serious penalties of fines either fine or imprisonment or both. In ensuring safety and adoption of these building codes and regulations, the Ministry of Infrastructure has fronted manuals containing guidelines, such that whoever attempts to erect a structure follows them closely. She added that in place are six stand-by fire engines at the air port and these are also charged with putting out fires in cases of any out break. Hopefully, this will help avert dangers resulting from fire outbreaks. But this all makes one wonder whether we are soon to see some of the structures in Kigali which don’t have emergency fire exits breaking some walls and complying to the precaution directives. On the issue of safety measures, we should also consider proper ventilation and our disabled brothers and sisters. Many structures tend to have on stairs forgetting the disabled who might be using crutches or wheel chairs or even those who drag themselves along the ground to reach their destinations. In case of a fire, they might be in grave danger if they have to hurriedly go down the stairs. And those precaution manuals should be easily accessible to the public whether through radio and television campaigns and any other means. I also think it apt to save a moment of silence for our Kenyan brothers and sisters who lost their precious lives in the Nakumatt and Oil tanker related fires. Ends