Assessment of fire safety provisions in selected public buildings in Minna, Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, there have been several forms of serious disaster confronting homes, lives and properties of people and the government. The most common ones are flood, building collapse and fire, of which fire outbreak is the most frequently recorded. This study addressed the problem of fire incidents which were reported to always occur more in public and private residential buildings as a result of non-compliance of building clients and occupants to the requirements of fire safety regulations. To solve this problem, the study assessed the level of fire safety provisions in public buildings in Minna, Niger State of Nigeria. In view of this, data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. T – Test was used to determine the differences between the stipulated requirements of fire safety regulations and the available fire safety measures provided in the selected public buildings. Regression analysis was employed to determine the relationship between population of building occupants and number of fire escape routes, and building floor area respectively in the selected public buildings. A significant difference was found between stipulated and available requirements of fire safety regulations with respect to fire extinguishers, fire fighting equipment and fire escape routes in public buildings. The relationships between population and number of fire escape routes, and building floor area in public buildings were found to be significant. It was concluded that fire safety requirements are not adequately provided or complied with in public buildings in Minna. It was recommended that building occupants or owners should always comply with fire safety regulations.