Fire incidents expose Nairobi's lack of plan to handle disasters

Fire rescue service is a shared responsibility between the national and county governments. However, glaring lapses exist.

Pius Masai, former deputy director of the National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU), said counties are not prepared in disaster response preparedness, prevention and mitigation.

"The fire incidents that have happened in the recent past, including the Embakasi gas explosion, shows the county government is not adequately prepared to handle disasters, which has left the public exposed to hazards," said Masai, who is now the director general of PIMAC International.

A police officer keeps guard at Mradi gas explosion site in Embakasi on February 06, 2024. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

He said the county has eight functional fire engines and has started setting up community disaster management and emergency teams in low-income areas. The teams will be trained and equipped to be first responders in case of disaster.

Masai called for the establishment of a multi-agency disaster incident management system. He said the lack of a national disaster management law is also hampering efforts to get the country prepared to tackle disasters such as fire.

In 2017, then Isiolo County Woman Representative Tiyah Galgalo sponsored the first-ever Disaster Management Bill which, unfortunately, did not see the light of day.

It sought to establish a Disaster Risk Management Authority to liaise with the national and county governments to deal with catastrophes, and also offer advice on disaster risk management measures.

The Bill also sought to establish a Disaster Risk Management Fund to provide cash for disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery measures.

Under the proposals, the government would be compelled to pay into the fund not less than two per cent of its total revenue in addition to any aid or assistance received to manage disasters in the country.

The Bill also proposed the formation of a County Disaster Risk Management Committee, chaired by the governor, which would be charged with the responsibility of advising the county government on matters relating to disaster management.

Under the National Assembly Bill Tracker, which tracks the statuses of Bills, it is now called The National Disaster Risk Management Bill, 2023 sponsored by Leader of the Majority Kimani Ichungwa and was Bill No. 24 of 2023. It went through the first reading on August 09, 2023 and stopped there.

There were efforts by the counties to come up with the County Fire and Rescue Services Act. Some county governments passed the Bill but were asked to relax the process until the national government comes up with an Act.