Fire Preparedness in Secondary Schools in Eldoret West Sub-County, Uasin-Gishu County, Kenya

Abstract

Background: Fire incidents in schools are worldwide phenomena that primarily range from being highly localized to global in scope. Safety of students and staff members pertaining to hazards, created by unsafe behavior, disasters or emergencies in schools cannot be guaranteed.  Objectives: The current study examined the capacity of secondary schools in coordination and communication of fire preparedness well as level of awareness and adaptive capacity. Methodology: The study employed a descriptive survey design. Proportionate sampling technique was adopted to select 16 out of the 80 secondary schools. Participants in the study constituted head teachers and other teaching staff in charge of safety, laboratory assistants and the chef. In addition, 280 students were selected from the 16 schools through random probabilistic sampling well as the DEO, 5 ZQAOs and 2 members of fire brigade team in the municipality within the district. Questionnaires and interview guides were used to collect data. Results: Sixty five per cent of the schools did not have disaster preparedness policies and plans. However, all head teachers acknowledged that it existed. 81% of schools did not have any alternative learning area neither emergency exits in the event of a disaster. Emergency instructions for safety in the event of disaster occurrence were lacking in many schools as acknowledged by 63% of respondents. Slightly more than half of the schools indicated evacuation drills and regular disaster preparedness meetings are never carried out. 63% of the teachers opined that their schools lacked laid-down procedures during emergency periods. Conclusion: Negligible percentage of schools had designated teachers, being in charge of safety. Students had no sufficient knowledge on what to do in case of fire outbreak. There were no adequate training on disaster preparedness and prevention among staff members and students. Findings show a larger percentage of teachers and students do not know how to use fire-fighting equipment.    Recommendation: Therefore, the study recommends capacity building programs among academic stakeholders on fire disaster preparedness and provision of fire safety support resources for combating fire disasters in all schools. The MoE should inspect and set ministerial regulations and guidelines on safety issues in all schools to ensure actualization of school safety manuals in blue print and needed commitment.