School fires: How safe are our schools?

Frequent fire outbreaks in schools is generating new interest in the safety of our children, especially in boarding schools, writes Otieno Amisi

How safe are our schools? is a question that nags every parent whenever a fire outbreak is reported in a school.

Fires have become a common problem in recent years. No place is safe any more; even the hallowed precincts of courts and prisons have fallen victims.

Only last week, a group of students at Naivasha Mixed Secondary school set ablaze the institution’s administration block. The disgruntled students are reported to have been targeting the deputy headmaster’s office, which keeps records of their academic performance and conduct. Property worth thousands of shillings was destroyed.

In February, warders’ houses at the Kamiti Maximum Security prison were reduced to ashes. The Nakuru court became a casualty last May. Slums, markets and hotels have fallen prey to the destructive flames.

But nowhere is the menace of fire more rampant than our learning institutions. Dormitories, offices, laboratories and other facilities have been the target of arsonists.

Every month, at least two schools suffer a fire outbreak. Though relatively few lives are lost, school fires have acquired an alarming notoriety.

Last year, there were at least 15 fire incidents in various schools.

But it would appear that after Kyanguli, school fires no longer generate any more heat.

After Prof. David Ndetei’s verbose Report On Post Trau- matic Stress Disorders and Associated Biological and Social Complications was shelved, there is little to show for our concern.

The report followed the infamous Kyanguli massacre in which 64 students died in a night inferno in March, 2001.

The Kyanguli massacre was a larger rendition of a 1998 massacre at Bombolulu Girls High school in the Coast Province, which killed several students.

Bishop Lawi Imathiu, who chaired the Commission of Inquiry that probed the Bombo- lulu disaster, proposes that school managers avoid crowding of dormitories.

In the Kyanguli case, the dormitory housed 130 students. The bishop proposes that many exit routes be created per dormitory and that hostel doors should not be locked from outside when students are inside.

But he cautions that such doors should be easily opened in case of emergency. Different prefects can keep separate keys to emergency exits.

“Of what use are doors when they are permanently locked, and the key kept in the school store?” he poses.

One would expect that with the growing frequency of school fires, head teachers would be falling over each other to install fire extinguishers in school laboratories, offices, and other fire-prone spots. It would also be expected that fire drills and first aid form part of the weekly activities in any boarding school worth its name; that fire equipment is checked for readiness in case of an emergency.

One would be forgiven for expecting that our universities, power suppliers and research institutions are working on ways to make building materials less inflammable, public buildings less fire prone, and creating awareness among the general public on fire preparedness.

Yet little has been done to prepare schools for fires. Our survey showed that only a handful of schools have fire extinguishers in offices, labora- tories, stores and kitchens, and even these were not regularly serviced.

Classrooms and dormitories had no fire extinguishers or emergency exits. Everywhere, contractors and school managers showed acute lack of interest in fire and safety measures.

In many schools, prefabricated buildings are a common sight. Most school property is combustible and is seldom subject to building and fire prevention regulations.

Furthermore, many public schools run on a shoe-string budget and cannot afford the luxury of fire fighting equipment. The slapping of a VAT on fire equipment puts the price of extinguishers way above the reach of most institutions.

School inspectors hardly perform safety assessment on during routine checks in schools.

In an ideal situation, fire fighting training, like scouting, should be an integral part of the school’s co-curricula menu. Fire fighters, like National Youth servicemen and the police, form an integral part of the national security system, helping soldiers in times of war.

Though a few schools are situated near open water sources like ponds and rivers, a majority have only a limited supply of water. There is need for public institutions to provide fire hydrants (alternative water sources) to be used in cases of emergency.

The present situation where the Ministry of Water wants the fire brigade to pay for water used in putting of emergency fires is ridiculous.

Recently, the chairman of the Kenya National Fire Brigade Association says there is no legal provision for fire fighters to draw water from fire hydrants and open sources even during an emergency.

But if our municipal authorities are themselves so ill prepared to fight even a modest house fire, what would our cash strapped schools do in the face of a disaster of the Kyanguli or Nyeri High school scale?

Local councils are themselves barely capable of handling fire emergencies. Furthermore, low public awareness of safety engineering means that there is little public support towards fire brigades.

A study of the response of local fire brigades in Kenya is like a peek at a well drafted tragi-comedy. If by chance the phones work, the lone engine will most likely be grounded.

When, in the unlikely even the truck weaves its way through the traffic jam and reaches the site, it will be discovered that there is not enough water or foam to fight the fire.

Current fire stations have exceeded their life span and badly need replacement.

As of February this year, the Nairobi fire brigade had only two foam tenders and one engine. The Ruaraka station had one engine, while Industrial Area had none.

Local Government Minister, Mr Karisa Maitha, says the fire department needs Sh 3 billion to revamp the fire sector, but he is uncertain whether the money will be forthcoming in the next Budget, due next week.

Maitha says though the country’s fire brigades in major towns are a full time professional fire fighting force, lack of facilities have continued to hamper their efforts.

Embakasi MP, Mr David Mwenje, recently decried the poor location of the Nairobi fire station. He argues that the fire fighters find it difficult to respond quickly to fires because of heavy traffic jams that block the trucks.

Mwenje wants the fire station relocated from the city centre, and its services decentralised to smaller stations on the outskirts of the city. Players in the safety industry feel it is time a fire authority was created.

National Fire Brigade Association secretary, Mr Francis Liech, even wants the government to provide for a department of fire and ambulance services.

Liech also feels that there is need to form teams of paid and volunteer firemen in every district to prevent, detect and extinguish fires, the way the ministry of agriculture has extension officers.

He also wants a central training school established to standardise fire training curriculum.

Only the Kenya Polytechnic offers a comprehensive safety training course. Most fire fighters are trained on the job, and the quality of the training is wanting.

In the meantime, the ministry should strengthen school inspection teams to check fire safety in schools.

The writer is a regular contributor to the East African Standard