Fire safety could soon be a prerequisite for businesses

When new investors decided to continue operating a nightclub at the same premises where the former B-Club Discotheque was located in Kigali’s swanky Nyarutarama area, they also hired electricians from the United Kingdom to ensure that their business would be safe from fire.Now K-Club is one of Kigali’s top end hang outs replacing the B-Club that was gutted in 2010.The security manager at the club, Bosco Nkurikiyinka, is a trained security manager and fire fighter.“Security here is guaranteed. Every wire that used to be in this building was taken out,” he said. “Security is everything (in business) and my message is; never overlook anything electrical.”The club has built a fire safety infrastructure that includes a commercial stabiliser which regulates the power level in the building, a fuse box to detect heat changes for the building’s electric cables, fire extinguishers in every corner of the building, as well as a permanent team of 24 security guards and three electricians who are also trained in firefighting.“This electrician here knows a lot of things. The British guy who came here and did the installation was also showing him everything,” Nkurikiyinka said while giving a tour of the fire safety infrastructure of the entire BRIMA Business Centre that hosts the club.The club’s dance floor has air conditioning and there are two emergency exits that clients can use in case of fire outbreaks. And when it does, a generator is on standby to keep providing light in the area, while two water tanks with 10,000 litres each are also on standby to help extinguish the blaze.For many investors and club goers without deep pockets, all of that infrastructure may sound a little too much for just a place to go dancing.But it’s pretty much what is currently required of all the places that might receive as many people as those received by K-Club where about 1,200 flock every week-end.Under the current requirements in urban building regulations and disaster management policies, buildings where business and other activities that attract many people take place must meet some specific fire safety requirements. They include a fire alarm system with an alarm bell on each floor, smoke detectors and sprinklers, fire extinguishers at every 50m on each floor, functioning exit signs and emergency exit on every floor, , floor plan on each level, number sign on each level, a sign forbidding the use of elevators in case of fire, and a landing pad on top of the building for helicopters.While the regulations have for long been ignored both in Kigali and in other parts of the country, current infrastructure developments, especially in Kigali City, have officials worried and making plans to act.“Anybody who is entering or occupying a building or who is going to rent a building should first inquire if that building has an occupancy permit, that’s the first thing they should do,” says Lillian Mupende, the Director of Kigali Construction One-Stop Centre which currently helps with construction permits and oversees the planning of the city’s building.Since 2011, the City of Kigali has been sensitizing different businesses to apply for an occupancy permit before starting their business activities, a process through which the city hopes to ensure safety for people using public buildings.“The reason why we insist that people should have an occupancy permit is because there are several things we check to ensure that they are provided for the safety of people who will be using the building,” Mupende explained in an interview with The Sunday Times on Thursday.Hinting at plans to start imposing “drastic measures” on those who will fail to acquire their occupancy permits, she revealed that the city had deployed regular inspection teams to check if people have the permits.“For anybody who doesn’t have an occupancy permit, particularly those who receive the public, we are going to be focusing quite closely on this,” she said.The plan means that investors in businesses that receive many clients could soon be forced to invest in fire safety equipment.For those who care about people’s safety and the development of the city, the move is definitely good news.“Public buildings in Rwanda are always of worry for me. There is no fire equipment; there are no evacuation procedures, no basic equipment for fire extinguishing,” said private fire safety consultant Ignatius Mugabo. “This country is developing and fire safety is going to be an issue.”Mugabo who manages Mugolds International Ltd, which has been providing firefighting and fire prevention services in Rwanda since 2009, urged Kigali City to conduct regular inspections on fire safety if the city is to avoid accidents “Every fire starts small somewhere and it’s from negligence that fire becomes a disaster,” he says.