Some call them the men in red while others call them the fire
charmers, but they are commonly known as the fire fighters. They are a
collection of men and women who tempt fate and do the unthinkable like
walking inside a burning building or go down a collapsing tunnel in an
attempt to save a life.
All this calls for bravery and determination which the firemen professionally exhibit in their line of work.
It’s usually a long way to become a fully decorated firefighter as
one has to go through classes, tests and drills which are carefully and
specially designed to put the trainee through simulated scenarios of the
life of a firefighter, also to determine whether they are undoubtedly
cut out to be outright fire fighters.
In Kenya, recruits are taken to a firefighting school situated in
industrial area along enterprise road. They are taught by retired and
seasoned firefighters who use their wealth of experience and knowledge
to impact vital information and know how of fire fighting.
The same courses at the school include, the A to Z of how to fight
fire, rescue scenarios and how to tackle them, First Aid, scene size up’
but to just mention a few. Recruits at the school are required to have
the passion to peruse fire fighting and have the understanding that it’s
a risky venture to get into, also they should know that is a lot of
hard work that needs determination and selflessness to preserver.
The recruiters got through a hierarchy of ranks through out their
career to get to the top most position which is chief fire officer.
But fire fighting in Kenya is not without its challenges. I spoke to
Mr Mwabora Simbi (not real names), a fireman who is posted at the
Nairobi fire station along Tom Mboya Street. He shared with me the life
and straggles of a firefighter.
“Many of firefighter here are married with kids” explains Mr Simbi.
“It’s advisable to be married with kids just incase you don’t make it
back when in the line of duty, atleast you’ll have left behind people to
carry on your name.”
Also the culture of praying and worshipping is common among the fire
fighters. “We also ask God for his divine protection and favour incase
of a fire and we never forget to worship and give thank to him after a
successful operation, here you can’t survive without God watching over
you” said Simbi.
The major problems our fire fighters face is that there are no
incentives that are put in place for their sake. The city council hasn’t
insured our fire fighters to cover them against risks.
In addition, in case of an unfortunate event where a fire fighter
gets injured in the line of duty, they are poorly compensated, with the
compensation taking years without being given due to the lack of a good
compensation system. Even when they are compensated, the money is either
too little to help or it’s too late to make a difference.
Low manpower is also another area of sore-ness in fire fighting.
There are no enough recruits being recruited into firefighting. The city
council and the government don’t put in enough emphasis and mechanics
to channel youths into the firefighting field.
Transferring workers from one City Council department to another not
only blocks the promotion of recruits but also brings in inexperienced
fire personnel, who in the long run lower the standards of the fire
fighting service in the country.
Nairobi city has four fire stations which are obviously overwhelmed by the ever increasing number of the fire cases.
“If it’s not for the private fire services around, on our own we can’t make it in handling the whole of Nairobi” Simbi observed.
Inadequate firefighting equipment is another thorny issue. In Nairobi
alone, there few reliable firefighting engines, and those that are
around are old and outdated; save for some few fire trucks that the city
council recently acquired for about 20 million each which was an
attempt to live up to it’s vision of providing world class services to
the city dwellers.
“In case of a major fire disaster, we are majorly unprepared due to our “humble” collection of equipment,” said Simbi.
Reliable water to fight fire has also been a sore spot for the
firefighters. Water hydrias that are erected to serve as refilling
points for fire fighters during fire emergencies are majorly vandalized,
misused and underserviced eventually making them non-functioning.
This dire situation calls for the Nairobi City Council to urgently
correct some of the small easy to rectify problems before moving on to
the big problems.
NCC should for instance decentralize fire stations across the region
for better firefighting service and improved quick response.
The council should also employ trained and passionate firefighters,
not recycling people from other departments within the council, if the
dream of improving firefighting services is to become a reality.
To curb the issue of water shortage, the council should sink bore
holes and erect overhead water tanks to maintain a steady water supply
for refilling fire engines in the event of fire.
The city council should also hasten the salaries of the fire fighters; this will give them motivation to go about their work.
Despite all the hurdles that come with being a firefighter, Mr Simbi
points out that being a firefighter is the best thing that has ever
happened to him. He serves his post with diligence and commitment.
His greatest moment is when he is saving lives and property and it’s a
job well done when the smoke has cleared and a survivor is doing well
or has totally recovered.
Source: http://nairobidigest.co.ke/what-it-takes-to-be-a-kenyan-firefighter/
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