Nairobi is stepping up efforts to protect residents from fires, floods and other disasters through a new strategy that expands fire stations, equips rescue teams and strengthens emergency preparedness across the city. The county says the changes are aimed at ensuring faster response and reducing the impact of disasters before they escalate.
Governor Johnson Sakaja outlined the reforms while appearing before the Senate National Security Committee, saying the county has invested in infrastructure, equipment, personnel and training to improve disaster response and build a stronger emergency management system.
“Our commitment is to strengthen disaster preparedness, emergency response and resilience through robust legislative, policy, institutional and operational frameworks,” Sakaja said on Thursday.
The committee is reviewing how prepared county governments are to handle disasters as the country continues to witness frequent market fires, floods and industrial accidents.
A key part of Nairobi's strategy is the proposed Disaster and Emergency Management Policy, which seeks to move the county away from responding to disasters only after they occur and instead place greater focus on prevention, planning and resilience.
“It shifts the county from a reactive emergency response model to a proactive, prevention-based disaster management approach,” the report states.
The county also plans to establish a permanent Disaster and Emergency Management Fund to guarantee financing for emergency operations instead of depending on emergency budget allocations.
Sakaja said Nairobi's fire and rescue department has changed rapidly after years of depending almost entirely on one fire station located in the central business district.
“For a long time, Nairobi depended on one fire station in the city centre. Today, we have built additional fire stations, acquired more fire engines, expanded our workforce and invested heavily in training our personnel to improve emergency response across the city,” he said.
The county now has seven operational fire stations located on Tom Mboya Street, Enterprise Road, Ruaraka, Gigiri, Waithaka, Kangundo Road and Mukuru Affordable Housing.
Work on the Gikomba fire station has reached 80 per cent and is expected to improve response in an area that has experienced repeated market fires over the years.
“With the Gikomba fire station now 80 per cent complete, we are strengthening emergency response in that area as we embark on building a modern Gikomba market, a project that is already underway,” Sakaja said.
County officials say the expansion of fire stations has improved coverage across Nairobi, with firefighters now responding to incidents in about eight minutes.
The governor said the county has also strengthened its emergency workforce through continuous training to improve response during disasters.
So far, Nairobi has trained 312 structural firefighters, 57 disaster management officers, 32 urban search and rescue specialists, 20 water rescue officers and 12 hazardous materials responders. Emergency teams have also received advanced training in emergency dispatch, urban rescue operations and hazardous materials response.
The county currently has 406 officers working in Fire and Rescue Services, Disaster Risk Reduction, Emergency Medical Services, Training and Administration.
To improve specialised skills, four officers have completed advanced hazardous materials training in South Africa, Slovakia and Switzerland.
Sakaja said protecting firefighters has become a priority after years of working with limited safety equipment.
“For many years, our firefighters lacked adequate protective gear despite the risks they face every day. We have now procured modern protective equipment to ensure they can perform their duties safely and effectively,” he said.
Despite the progress, Nairobi County acknowledged that it still faces several challenges and says more work is needed to fully strengthen its disaster response capacity.