Naivas Supermarket Fire a wakeup call to Kenyan Safety scholars

On the night of Sunday 7, 2014 fire engines from both public and private entities fought hard to contain a huge fire that engulfed Naivas Supermarket  in Utawala, outskirts of Nairobi CBD. The incedent which occured at around 10pm took the combined forces of the fire brigades hours to contain, especially after it was established that the fire might spread to the nearby petrol station. The fire led to loss of property worth million of shillings.

Though investigations are underway to establish the cause of fire, there is great academic need by scholars in safety and especially fire safety to put more effort in studying the management of fire risks in shopping malls. Most supermarkets in Kenya have introduced the catering section within the super-market itself, Naivas included and as indicated in the preliminary reports, the Naivas fire started at the bakery section. 

Great safety scholars like Freeman have come to a general consensus that fire risk in shopping malls may be lower but the fact that they are visited by hundreds of people each day is a risk. In Kenya there are more shopping malls coming up and with the advent of new services within the supermarkets, there is a need to have a model for fire risks management specifically for shopping malls in Kenya. Not only will it eliminate or reduce fire risks but it will also create an elaborate safety plan that involves all the stakeholders in the industry.

Fire is unfortunate event but is there a model that shopping malls managers can use in fire risk management? How can the fire risks be managed in a more productive manner? And what better system and processes can be applied to reduce the risks? The answer to this questions should be directed to the scholars in the fire safety industry in Kenya and when answered shopping mall fires will be a forgoten agenda.

The writer is a PhD candidate focusing fire service delivery