A club fire in Santa Maria, southern Brazil, shocked the world after more than 200 revellers died at Club Kiss. A fireworks stunt gone wrong blazed up the club that had over 1,300 people, reports indicate. According to Brazilian police, a country music band performing at the nightclub lit a flare that ignited flammable soundproof foam in the ceiling. Those trying to flee were further hampered by a catastrophic lack of fire alarms and sprinkler systems. The club also had only one working door and a faulty fire extinguisher, reports indicate.
Talk of our own Kenya. How safe are our clubs and other hang out joints? Have the authorities done a good job in approving all public places, especially clubs?
A quick look around the many clubs in Nairobi alone indicates that most clubs are not prepared to deal with such incidences as fire breakouts.
Most of them lack fire-fighting equipment, emergency exits and even proper ventilation for proper air circulation. Balconies also pose a major threat to revellers’ security, especially for the very squeezed ones. Most were never meant to be clubs to begin with so things like balconies or need of multiple exit routes are never put in mind in the construction phase.
On Nairobi’s Banda Street, three clubs facing each other include Tribeka (which also houses Beka Lounge), Giggles and Mojos Lounge. A quick look at Giggles, we find that its small size does not accommodate many people inside, so they prefer putting chairs and tables on the verandah for more revellers. However, the small inner balcony next to the DJ does not look very safe since the only exit is the only entrance to the main club.
At Mojos, opposite Giggles, the outdoor arrangement on the ground floor looks it quite secure, with two guarded exits on both ends of the building providing a secure emergency exit plan. Upstairs, the club is very spacious, with large un-grilled windows, which the management say, can also be used as emergency exits.
At Tribeka, the ground floor has an entrance and an exit, spacious enough for revellers on the ground floor to move in and out. However, one is led to the second floor by a flight of stairs, the same ones that lead you to another narrow entrance into the third floor, where you find Beka Lounge.
It’s a well done lounge but other than the entrance, the only other exit one would find is the one leading to the washrooms. On asking the management on how they ensure safety of the revellers at Beka Lounge, or even just to tell us where the emergency exits are, we were told that they do not discuss such issues with the media.
On Kenyatta Avenue, another popular joint is Simmers Club. With the club being more outdoor than indoor, one can easily notice it’s easy to manage evacuation in case of an emergency. It has two exits, one on Wabera Street and the other on Kenyatta Avenue.
On Moi Avenue, the most populous club, actually the biggest within the CBD is Florida 2000, which actually has a capacity of about 2,000 people. With tight security at the entrance of the club, there are about six emergency exits, the most important one being the one next to the dance floor where most people flock. Fire extinguishers have been placed in different positions too to ensure safety of every reveller.
Moving to Westlands, Skylux Lounge is one of the most popular joint, besides Galileo, on Waiyaki Way. Skylux being on the second floor of Soin Arcade, has three exits leading to three different staircases.At the Carnivore, there are more than enough exits both at the Simba Saloon and the grounds.
But with all this, there are still many clubs that one can enter and get shivers either due to poor lighting or lack of proper emergency exits. Many clubs for instance, are too dark and it’s hard to find the emergency exit and even on a regular night, the entrance, which serves as the exit is ever crowded by people making calls, smoking or making out.
The authorities MUST be keen on how public places are constructed. The planning department of the City Council needs to wake up. They are supposed to ensure that such public places are constructed with the highest standards of security measures observed.
By John Muchiri
Source: Daily Nation
It was supposed to be an informative article, but it failed. Why? The myriad of grammatical errors, lack of structure and seriously, was it even researched? Felt like the journalist walked to clubs looked and just wrote to finish his assignment and therefore I was bored reading it. It (the article) had so much potential.
Apart from night clubs, you could also include fast food joints in town. You find that high voltage appliances especially rotisserie machines are right next to the entrance, which in most cases is the only exit! One could only imagine what could happen in case of A FIRE AT THE EXIT.