Fire Safety Control Measures and Emergency Preparedness among TOI Market Traders in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

Background: Market fires have been a recurring disaster in East Africa. The governments of developing countries face the challenge of absorbing labour for all their citizens, and this brings in the factor of informal sectors. In sub-Saharan Africa, informal sectors account for 70% of total household earnings; this helps to reduce high poverty levels as the government generates income from the sectors. Objectives: The broad objective of the study was to explore fire safety control measures and Emergency preparedness among Toi market Traders in Nairobi City County, Kenya. Specific objectives were to: assess fire safety control measures, determine the level of compliance with statutory fire safety measures as envisioned by the Fire Risk Reduction Rules of 2007, and assess the level of knowledge of fire emergency preparedness by the Toi Market Traders. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study design was employed. The study location was Toi Market, Nairobi County. The sample size was 391, which was determined by Slovin’s et al., formula 2007. A purposive sampling technique was used, with stratified random sampling in selecting each category, which was based on probability proportional to size. Data were obtained by the use of questionnaires, interviews, and observation checklists. Chi-square was used to determine associations between study variables. Results: A good number of respondents, 385 (98.5%), successfully participated. Results found that 80.9% of the respondents had either witnessed or experienced a fire outbreak in the market; 89% of people living with disabilities also witnessed or experienced a fire in the market. Further, it was found that there was no firefighting equipment in the market, as 97.7% stated. Only 20.8% of respondents were trained in fire safety and able to use a fire extinguisher; 90.3% stated that no fire safety drills were ever performed in the market. Most 83% said that there was a high need for basic fire safety training. The results also revealed that electrical faults 36.2% and arson attacks due to land disputes 25.9% were the major causes of market fires. Conclusions: The study found that there were no fire safety guidelines governing the market; thus, recurrent fire episodes occurred. Similarly, the level of adherence to the Fire Risk Reduction Rules of 2007 was very low. The knowledge level of fire preparedness was also found to be low.