The recent fire incident at the Police Road Safety offices in Kigali, on Christmas Day, provoked a few thoughts in my mind. First, it showed how the public investment in Rwanda National Police's (RNP) Fire and Rescue Brigade (FRB) in the last 10 or so years, is paying off. The response of the Fire Brigade was quick and impressive. They did a superb job and saved a public asset. I felt so proud of them, knowing well the journey they have travelled since 2009. There was a time when the FRB was weak and ineffective. Most fire incidents then resulted in total destruction. There was a time they used to attend a fire incident with limited water capacity, go to fetch more water in Nyabugogo, only to return and find the building half or wholly consumed by the raging fire. Those days are now behind us, thanks to the improved fire operation skills of the FRB personnel, as well as general improvement in fire safety infrastructure in towns and cities across the country. Second, I thought it was a wake-up call to both public and private real estate managers/ owners to be more vigilant, especially during festive seasons. So, this overused cliche paradigm shift came to mind. This means, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions. In otherwords, an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way. So I reckon we need a paradigm shift from the current kizimyamoto mentality to a comprehensive, planned fire risk management and protection strategy, involving both proactive and reactive forms. By kizimyamoto mentality” I mean the common thinking that once the red objects, commonly known as kizimyamoto (fire extinguishers) are installed in a building, then you have a magic bullet against fire outbreaks. Building managers, as well as officials responsible for public assets and infrastructure safety, need to plan and put more emphasis on proactive fire prevention measures. This includes staff training in fire prevention and fire safety awareness for every institution, regular inspections of compliance with fire protection regulations, checks on electric installations and other potential causes of fire in a building, as well as regular fire and emergency evacuation procedures practice. Fire tends to mount a surprise attack (like the one on Christmas Day) and is more destructive if it finds an unprepared and disorganised situation. Fire is a dangerous animal that attacks when unexpected, and it can wrestle a mighty building to the ground in a matter of minutes. We also need more investment in modern firefighting capabilities and more training for FRB personnel to effectively protect our modern (or rapidly modernising) infrastructure. We need to prepare to deal with any eventuality. We need more Aerial Ladder Platforms (ALPs- known as Bronto among FRB personnel), that can fight fires in our ever-increasing high-rise buildings (like the one used to fight the Christmas Day blaze). Once upon a time, these kits were unnecessary, but that era is gone. We now have what to protect and the lax approach to fire safety worries me every single day. We need a zero tolerance to non-compliance with fire safety measures, like Singapore. An independent fire safety regulatory authority would help in cultivating this new approach. At the current pace of urbanization and infrastructure development, FRB personnel need more advanced training in industrial firefighting, structural fire and rescue operations, fire (arson) investigation and fire cause determination, fire scene (potential crime scene) preservation, aircraft fire fighting, and many other specialised areas. There will be a time when firefighting aircrafts will be required to douse the flames from above. We have a mantra in this business that says always prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It's time Rwanda shifts into this mode in terms of fire protection because we have a lot to lose nowadays. The author is Managing Director of MuGOLDS International Ltd, a fire risk management consulting company based in Kigali.
