•Qwetu houses over 3,800 college and university students in Nairobi.
•It is a legal requirement to undertake at least one fire and safety drill annually to test preparedness in the event of fire emergencies.
The National Disaster Management Unit and the Nairobi City County Fire Department have urged building and built infrastructure property owners to conduct regular safety drills to test preparedness for eventualities.
Representatives from the two institutions said this at the conclusion of a series of safety drills across six properties owned by Qwetu Student Residences, that house over 3,800 college and university students in Nairobi.
They reiterated that it is a legal requirement to undertake at least one fire and safety drill annually to test preparedness in the event of fire emergencies, saying that additional drills in the course of a 12-month period are an added advantage.
Speaking after the exercise, Cyrus Maina, Chief Administration Officer at NDMU said:“When we do these drills, we promote awareness to the occupants, members of the public, and even the responders."
Another benefit is to check whether the systems and mechanisms, both internal and external, put in place are working.
"During the drills conducted at Qwetu, we got all occupants out within a specific amount of time. There were no injuries or other security-related issues,” he said.
On his part, Wilson Wanjiru, Leading Fireman at the Nairobi County Fire Department, reiterated the need for property owners to adhere to the law and conduct annual fire drills.
“A fire drill, according to the law, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2007 and Fire Risk Reduction Rules, 2007, state that a fire drill should be conducted at least once every 12 months. Training and fire safety awareness exercises are crucial to the success of these drills."
"I would like to thank the Qwetu management for initiating the fire drills in accordance with the law and ensuring that all relevant stakeholders are informed and aware,” he added.
The drills were staged over the past two weeks (January 17, 2022 – January 26, 2022) as part of Qwetu management’s commitment to ensure that all properties meet the highest safety standards and improve overall preparedness in response to emergencies.
During the drills, there were various simulation exercises including fire and first aid safety simulations–which were conducted by Qwetu and supported by the National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU), AAR, Nairobi Fire Brigade, and the National Police Service.
Steve Wood, Health, Safety, Security, Environmental and Quality Director at Acorn Holdings Limited – the owners of Qwetu – said:“We conduct fire drills for several reasons, primarily to test our internal systems and to make sure that our tenants and their parents or guardians know what to do in the event of an alarm situation."
"When we talk about health and safety, the most important group are the students. We want to be the forerunners in what we do, so the health and safety of the students are first and foremost," he added.
He said Acorn Holdings Limited has set standards over and above Kenyan legal compliance to continue fulfilling its mission to transform the landscape of rental housing for young people in Kenya, starting with a commitment to provide safe, secure and affordable quality student accommodation.