In the week ending July 6th, I received two videos of burning properties. In the first video, the fire was blazing out of a bar- restaurant in Musanze, Northern Province. A woman could be heard crying ‘Mana yange we....mana yange we’ (Oh my God..Oh my God...). Poor woman, probably the owner of the business! In the second video, a Toyota Daihatsu truck was burning in Muhima sector, Kigali City. In this video, the truck cabin is on fire and people could be seen trying to douse the flames with water. Probably the driver did not carry an appropriate fire-extinguishing medium or had it and did not know how to use it. Hardly a week passes these days without a fire incident being reported somewhere. What is going on? People are asking! Rwanda has quietly walked into modernity. That is what has happened. Everywhere you go, everywhere you look you feel an aura of modern living. Human activity has increased, and that attracts more perils. A dormant economy does not experience much of this problem. Kigali is quickly becoming a real global metropolis. Fancy restaurants and cafes offering fine dining experiences, modern working spaces, sharply dressed executives criss-crossing the streets to modern office blocks and apartments. I recently had a meeting with young ‘Techpreneurs’ at Norsken building and it reminded me of my early experience in other global metropolis- Copenhagen, London, New York, Mexico City, Tokyo, Sydney etc.- the feeling of ideas flying around, the smell of brewing coffee and mouth-watering snacks, brainstorming sessions all around, in modern, tech-equipped, air-conditioned meeting rooms. Drive out of Kigali, in any direction and you will find modern cafes welcoming you for a break and offering roadside dining experience, just like you find on the M25 (a major ring road encircling most of Greater London). However, in this budding metropolis, something important is missing and it worries me every single day. Fire risk awareness is still very low. Fire protection of these beautiful places (the word ‘beautiful’ borrowed from President Trump’s vocabulary toolbox) is at the lowest. In other global metropolises, business owners and homeowners, real estate managers take fire risk very seriously. Drivers carry fire extinguishers and they are trained how to use them. In every 10 minutes’ walk, you see a red-gated, open-access building, with red trucks looking at you menacingly friendly; ready to fly out at a moment’s call. That is a Fire Brigade Station (Fire Station). You may not notice it if you do not know, but they are always there, closer to the community than even schools or health facilities, in some areas. A fire station is a building designed for the sole purpose of housing Fire Department’s operational Personnel (with administrative support & training functions) and their equipment to allow the fastest response possible to the community within their specific response area. Note the words ‘specific response area’ because every fire station has a limited operational ground, so that the firefighting crew can reach the fire while still small and manageable! So, the next time you walk past a busy community market, shopping mall, a bustling industrial area, beautiful office blocks, apartments or community estate, a glittering new or vintage hospitality facility, a school full of Rwanda’s future, a hospital full of loved ones receiving health care- ask yourself, if it catches fire, how quickly would firefighting and rescue team be there? This is not an ‘if one’ (hypothetical) situation- fire is an ever - present danger in modern metropolises. These are the places authorities and owners/manager should worry about and keep a close watch. It is at such places that fire prevention efforts should be razor sharp, and firefighting resources brought in very close proximity, with skilled personnel. The author is the Managing Director of MuGOLDS International Ltd, a fire risk management consultancy firm based in Kigali.
