On disaster management and crisis response

Every time there is a national or local emergency, such as the explosion that took place along Kirinyaga Road, or the building that collapsed in Embakasi-Pipeline, the Kenya Red Cross and the Kenya Army are usually among the first-responders that attend to the scene along with the Nairobi Fire Brigade. A common sight is a crowd of onlookers and ill-trained, ill-equipped members of the public who attempt to participate in the disaster response and any rescue efforts that may ensue. The policy of the Fire Brigade and the Red Cross has always been to discourage these people from participating in the response because their actions may hamper the effort rather than help. Pleas for them to wait for the response units to take action have so far fallen on deaf ears. This reflects, perhaps, the popular perception that the disaster response system in Nairobi, or nationwide, is less trusted than the popular instinct to 'do something' regardless of the risks posed to those directly affected by the disaster or the mass of people rushing to take whatever action they can to save lives and prevent further loss of property.

The Kenya Red Cross, as well as the St John's Ambulance, run programmes for institutions, families and individuals on basic disaster response and emergency care in the event of accidents or disasters. However, many Kenyans have yet to take up these organisations' training programmes and as such, many members of the public are unable to appreciate the risks that attend such responses to emergencies as was witnessed after the above-mentioned two emergencies in Nairobi.

Our public education system has deteriorated over the past 15 years. It used to be that many of the emergency response techniques that would be useful in the event of such disasters was part of the schools' curricula, ensuring that primary and secondary school students were adequately prepared to take action in the event of a crisis. Today, however, many would be hard-pressed to respond properly to minor accidents. This has led many youthful persons to rely overwhelmingly on what they see on TV or hear from others and as a result, they take great risks every time they respond to a crisis, placing their lives in great jeopardy. It high time that the National Disaster Management Office rolled out a programme for the integration of disaster management in the syllabi and curricula of all schools and learning institutions in Kenya, including basic training in first aid and disaster management in order to leverage the overwhelming goodwill Kenyans have for each other and to take advantage of the common Kenyan desire to assist whenever and wherever disaster strikes. It is the only way that the risks to ordinary first-responders' lives can be minimised and the maximum opportunity to save lives can be increased.

At the same time, the government can also ensure that all local authorities have well-established disaster response units. It can also review the relevant law to empower local fire service chiefs to take the necessary steps to minimise or prevent future disasters. For example, in the United States, it is common for the heads of local fire brigades to enjoy enormous power with regards to the maintenance of fire-fighting equipment, both at municipal level and within buildings and other public areas. The heads of these departments have the authority to shut down buildings and public areas that do not meet the minimum fire-safety standards of the municipality. This is an idea that should be explored by Kenyan authorities so that disasters such as the Kirinyaga Road one are not repeated in future.