Assessment of Fire Escape Routes in Commercial High- Rise Buildings in the Nairobi CBD, Kenya

Abstract- Due to the inherent fire risk in occupancies, it necessary that they are provided with suitable and sufficient escape route in case of fire emergency. This will ensure that occupants can get to a place of relative safety within the shortest period of time without travelling excessive distances or encountering hindrances. This paper is resultant of a study conducted on fourteen commercial highrise buildings in Nairobi CBD. It assesses essential fire escape route elements in the light of the requirements of the national regulations, laws and standards. Inspections, questionnaire survey, document review and interviews were used in the research. One hundred and nine (109) occupants responded to the questions poised to capture their perception, attitude and opinion on the escape route/s at their workstations. In the assessment 85.71 % of the surveyed escape routes exhibited insufficient or unsuitable fire elements while only 7.14 % of the buildings had sufficient and/or suitable and 7.14 % had no escape stairs at all. Further, the results of the study show that, although fire escape routes are required as an integral part of the fire safety strategy, there still exist deficiencies in their provision. Unclear or no exit signage, obstruction and locking; poor escape route planning, lack of alternative escape route and the condition of fire doors are some of the challenges found with escape routes in the buildings. In view of the results, escape routes should be adequate, easily accessible, properly marked, well lit and have in place requisite facilities to enable easy movement and safety of the people. The escape route should also be routinely inspected to ensure no inhibitions are found to prevent people from using the route effectively. Lastly, the responsible authorities and persons should make sure that inspections are done and records made on remedial actions undertaken to correct present hazardous situation/s. Index Terms- Fire escape route, means of escape, relative safety