City Hall scandals cripple fire-fighting unit

Kenya’s major towns are sitting on a fire time bomb. Investigations by the Nation reveal that Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nyeri and other towns are ill-prepared to respond to major fires. The fire departments in these areas are crippled by years of official neglect and riddled with mismanagement and corruption. They also lack equipment and human power.

In Nairobi, for example, the City Council cannot respond to fires as all of its 18 fire engines, except one, are grounded. Corruption and misuse of emergency equipment have brought the fire department to its knees. Should there be an inferno, the brigade can only watch as its only operating fire engine cannot cope.

Corrupt workers

A Nation investigation revealed that despite the engines being grounded, unscrupulous workers at City Hall were paying for goods and spare parts that are never delivered. Documents show that payments for fuel at a petrol station were still being made despite no fire engine fuelling there.

Staff at the fire department pointed fingers at a senior City Hall officer. The latest voucher of Sh30,000 was paid last Tuesday for a grounded vehicle at the department’s Tom Mboya Street yard. Other dubious payments include Sh370,000 for 11 tyres early last year, which were never delivered.

Our investigations also revealed that more than Sh10 million is required to service the 18 trucks. Two of the newest fire engines bought last year, registration numbers KAW 772Z and KAW 773Z, were meant to have a capacity of 7,000 litres, but tanks with a capacity of 10,000 litres were built instead.

Other design anomalies included attaching the firemen’s cabin to the water tanks, posing a danger to the fire-fighters, according to the vice-chairman of the Kenya Local Government Workers Union Nairobi chapter, Mr John Malimo.

Two trucks have been grounded after developing clutch problems. Emergency equipment donated by the US for cutting blocks when a building collapses is being used to repair roads and most of it no longer works. A Renault truck taken for Sh2.9 million overhaul was returned without any of its tyres.

A 10,000-litre capacity fire engine is grounded at CMC Motors because of clutch failure and lack of batteries, which require Sh483,000. A grounded Mercedes Benz lorry left by a United States rescue team after the 1998 bomb blast in Nairobi is said to require only Sh12,000 for some minor repairs.

The country’s second largest town, Mombasa, is in no better shape. When hawkers set ablaze the only fire engine in a riot early this year, this coastal tourist haven was left exposed. The engine had just been bought from France at a cost of about Sh50 million. Up to now, the council has been unable to buy a new machine and donors are reluctant to help, citing negligence that led to the burning of the equipment.

The situation is the same elsewhere at the coast. The recent fire on Lamu’s Faza Island, which destroyed more than 300 houses, exposed the problem. The biggest issue that has been brought to the fore after the Faza accident is the situation in Lamu Town, where petrol and charcoal dealers are selling their commodities next to makuti-thatched structures, which could be a disaster in waiting in case there was fire.

Former Lamu county council chairman Hassan Albeity said they had come up with a decision to move petroleum dealers to other areas that would not pose any risk as they go about their businesses. “The problem in Lamu is that there is no fire-fighting equipment and the situation is made worse by the narrow streets that would not allow any vehicle to move through the town in case of fire. We had proposed to put up hydrants in several areas within the town that would easily be used to fight fire in case it breaks out,” he said.

Broken down

“In Malindi, the municipal council has one truck with a capacity of 3,000 litres but cannot fight fire. Its system is broken down. We can only carry the water but can’t use it at fire scenes,” said the fireman in charge of the station Mohamed Bacha.

“We have enough personnel, nearly 30, all well-trained. But we don’t have the necessary equipment to fight the fire. We are handicapped,” acting town clerk Mohamed Bates said. A huge fire broke out in May around Kibokoni area in Malindi, resulting in huge property loss. More than 60 posh private villas and the historical Palm Tree Club were razed.

There have been great losses from fires in Malindi, Mambrui and Watamu in the past. Watamu Beach Hotel, the popular Angels Bay in Mambrui, African Dream and several hotels and private villas in Casuarina area in Malindi are some of the destroyed property.

The Kenya Airports Authority-run fire brigade at Malindi Airport once in a while is called to help. But it should be understood that their main duty is to take care of aircraft fires and disasters within their jurisdiction, not to extinguish hotel fires. Getting them out of the airport is also a process as direct authority has to come from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

Looking hazy

With the future looking hazy, the Malindi tourist hub has a long way to go before residents and investors can claim they are well-protected against fire disasters. Some 30 tourism establishments in South Coast are always in anxiety due to lack of fire-fighting equipment in case of fire outbreaks. Kenya Association of Hotelkepers and Caterers executive officer Gladwell Mumia bemoaned the lack of fire-fighting equipment in the area, which has some of the best hotels, restaurants and cottages.

Reports by Kibiwott Koross, Casper Waithaka, Mwakera Mwajefa, Mazera Ndurya and Daniel Nyassy