Investigating the compliance of national referral hospitals’ buildings to fire safety guidelines in Kampala.

Abstract

Fire safety is the set practice intended to reduce the destruction caused by fire. It includes those that are intended to prevent ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that limit the development and effect of fire it starts. Fire safety measures include those that are planned during construction of a building or implemented in structures that are already standing and those that are taught to occupants of the building. Though laws and regulations are enacted, buildings around Kampala District still experience high number of fire incidents. This shows that buildings do not follow strict fire safety practices This research was intended to investigate the compliance of national referral hospitals’ buildings to fire safety guidelines. It focused on reviewing the existing fire safety equipment and protection measures in these hospitals’ buildings, assessing the functionality of the measures put in place and the existing fire safety equipment installed in the hospitals’ buildings and further comparing the standards and the existing fire safety guidelines applied in the referral hospitals’ buildings. A questionnaire survey in conjunction with a checklist were used to collect data. It was composed of 26 questions responded by 35 respondents. From the 35 questionnaires (sample size) distributed, they were returned and all were valid and usable. Descriptive statistical analysis was adopted for the study. Graphical representations and tables were used to represent the results. The study established that all the national referral hospitals have average compliance levels below 30 percent, this falls below the 80 percent standard for compliance. From the statistics developed, only 40 percent individuals sampled in the national referral hospitals were aware of the fire safety guidelines and measures in the building. In other words, national referral hospitals’ buildings have a very low compliance to the set fire safety guidelines of 45 percent. The research findings revealed the national referral hospitals’ buildings have a low compliance to the fire safety guidelines.