Nairobi’s city fire department to open training college

a morden fire fighting truck

By Hudson Gumbihi| Nairobi, Kenya
PLANS are afoot to set up a training school in Nairobi for firefighters.
The institution will be based in Industrial Area, Chief Fire Officer Brian Chunguli has disclosed while outlining to Luvei Times obstacles facing his officers.
Funds from Local Authority Service Delivery Action Plan (LASDAP) will be used in setting up the about 35-capacity school projected to start training programmes by August, 2010. Firefighters receive training overseas or locally, but from a security agency – a practice that has placed a heavy financial burden on Nairobi City Council.

Conducting training locally

Training a single officer at the Kenya Navy in Mombasa costs Shs 2 million while overseas expenses are much higher. City Hall now wants to minimize costs and maximize on quality by conducting internal training, says Chunguli.
Fighters from all local authorities and counties will be trained at the facility before a national policy seeking the centralization of firefighting is fully implemented. “At the moment local authorities operate separately, but we want firefighting to be put under one command for efficiency and proper coordination,” observes the officer.
Donors will be sought later to help in transforming the school into a full-fledged academy complete with an emergency and disaster management directorate, and a comprehensive equipped command and control system.

Out dated fire equipments

There have been complaints that the fire brigade is ill-trained to deal with huge infernos inevitable in the fast expanding city. However, Chunguli defends his officers against the accusations saying funds at the disposal were not enough for state-of-the-art training akin in Europe and North America.

“That is why we are racing against time to have our own school complete with relevant modules suiting our situation,” explained Chunguli. The Nairobi fire station lacks adequate tools for extinguishing, search and rescue missions.
There is no modern fire engine carrying hose ramps, breathing apparatus, extinguishers, ventilators, ladders, floodlights, pike poles, halligan bars, axes and cutting equipment. Firefighters hardly have personal protective equipment (PPE) which include fire-resistant clothing and helmets that limit the transmission of heat towards the body.