UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
ASSESSING FIRE HAZARDS REDUCTION CAPABILITIES IN NAIROBI’S KIBERA INFORMAL
SETTLEMENTS
A PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED TO FACULTY OF ARTS IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN ADVANCED DISASTER
MANAGEMENT
BY
RUTH N. KAMENGERE
SUPERVISOR: PROF. YAMBO
REG. NO. C50/70958/08
OCTOBER 2014
Abstract
Droughts, fires, flood, terrorism, technological accidents, diseases dominate Kenya’s disaster
profile and epidemics that disrupt people’s livelihoods, destroy the infrastructure, divert
planned use of resources, interrupt economic activities or retard development. Over the past
few years, Kenya has made progress in relation to disaster response and recovery, but not
much in disaster reduction. The severity and frequency of recurrent ‘everyday’ urban risks
experienced predominantly by socio-economically deprived residents in sprawling Kibera Slums
have been largely under-researched, or accorded little attention by disaster risk specialists in
Kenya and beyond.
The broad objective was to assess the fire hazards reduction capabilities in Nairobi’s Kibera
informal settlement. The study further sought to achieve the following specific objectives: to
investigate how fire hazards are managed by the Kibera residents internally vis-à-vis externally
by other actors; to investigate prospects for long-term strategies of fire hazard reduction that
will bring sustainable solutions and incorporate disaster resilience and mitigation into actions
and decisions; and to assess the level of capacity to reduce fire-related hazards among the
residents of Kibera Slums.
The study was carried out at within Kibera Slums. This study adopted a case study design. The
unit of analysis was the household. The unit of observation was the individual heads of
household. A field study was conducted covering 198 households’ heads and select key
informants. Simple random sampling method was used in the selection of individuals to be
interviewed. The study used interviewing as the principal data collection technique. The main
tools of data collection were structured interview schedules for key informants and household
heads.
The findings established that Kibera residents manage fire hazards using a two-pronged
approach. First, hazards are managed at the household level. Second, hazards are managed at
the community level which involves the immediate neighbourhood and other external actors. ,
the findings revealed a range prospects for long-term strategies of fire hazard reduction that
will bring sustainable solutions and incorporate disaster resilience and mitigation into actions
and decisions for Kibera residents. These include: assistance from external actors;
communication and early warning approaches; sensitization on personal and household safety
measures; and comradeship. The study was able to reveal the level of capacity to reduce firerelated hazards among the residents of Kibera Slums. The capacities were explored on the basis
of three broad categories namely: responsible handling of fire sources, institutional support,
equipment, and social networks. In order to enhance fire hazards reduction capabilities in
Nairobi’s Kibera informal settlement, the study recommended that the government should
boost its external support on preparedness; increase the level of awareness on fire hazards
management among the members of the community; and introduce measures to reduce the
level of dependency by the community to external interventions. This will be achieved through
participatory decision-making.