DISASTER PLANS, PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE: A CASE STUDY OF MUTARE CITY COUNCIL FIRE BRIGADE

Registration ID: IJNRD_181595

Published ID: IJNRD2205183

DOI: Click Here to Get

Luke Teddy Chigwanda , Wiseman Mupindu

disaster, preparedness, disaster plans, firefighter, drills.

Abstract Objective: The major objective of this research was to assess how prepared the City of Mutare Fire Brigade was, to respond to emergencies and disasters. Design: This research used the mixed methods approach. The descriptive research design was used. The study was based on the positivism philosophy. Setting: The target population were all the 26 Fire Brigade staff working at the Mutare City Council Fire Brigade at the time of study and 3 ambulance drivers. However, data were collected from 19 firefighters and 2 ambulance drivers. Methods: Data were collected using questionnaires, key informant interviews and participant observation. The data were collected from January to March 2020. The quantitative data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: A disaster plan, which had a list of potential hazards, risks or threats, was available. The most common disasters in the opinion of respondents were road traffic accidents (100%), fire (95%), mine collapse (79%) and disease epidemics (53%). The Fire Brigade had one functional ambulance stationed at a clinic instead of at least 5 ambulances, and no ambulance was stationed at the Fire Station. The respondents had inconsistent answers on whether the Fire Brigade had a pre-hospital disaster scene plan or incident scene guide, which guides their operations at the incident scene such as a road traffic accident. More than half (53%) indicated that they had a pre-hospital disaster plan, whilst 37% indicated that they did not have it and 10% indicated that they did not know whether they had it or not. Most respondents (95%) were of the view that, poor organisation at the road traffic accident scene can cause more disasters. A significant proportion (74%) agreed that there could be deaths and injuries of responders on duty at poorly organised accident scenes. The majority (84%) agreed that the arrangement of emergency vehicles and traffic control devices at the scene of a road traffic accident with the aid of a pre-hospital disaster plan could create safer working environment for responders. There was no specific budget for disasters and disaster preparedness trainings, workshops and drills, in the Mutare City Council budget. Slightly above half (53%) of the respondents had attended disaster preparedness training/workshops. Close to half (47%) of the respondents had not done mass casualty disaster preparedness drills involving clinics and hospitals. Close to half of the respondents (47%) were of the view that the Fire Brigade equipment was not in good condition, 68% indicated that the vehicles they were using were too old and 63% indicated that the Fire Brigade did not have all the equipment needed to effectively respond to emergencies or disasters. The personal attitude of respondents towards disaster preparedness at a personal and family level was weak. Conclusion: The absence of and insufficiency of disaster preparedness trainings, workshops and mass casualty disaster preparedness drills as well as insufficient equipment could have been responsible for the City of Mutare Fire Brigade’s poor state of disaster preparedness. It was recommended that Mutare City Council specifically budget for disaster preparedness trainings, workshops, mass casualty disaster preparedness drills, upgrade the Fire Brigade vehicles and equipment and update the disaster profile and disaster plans.

Published Paper   E-Certificate

Luke Teddy Chigwanda & Wiseman Mupindu (May-2022). DISASTER PLANS, PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE: A CASE STUDY OF MUTARE CITY COUNCIL FIRE BRIGADE. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NOVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, 7(5), 1385-1397. https://ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRD2205183.pdf

Volume 7 Issue 5, May-2022

Pages : 1385-1397

Paper Reg. ID: IJNRD_181595

Published Paper Id: IJNRD2205183

Downloads: 000121987

Research Area: Social Science and Humanities 

Country: Mutare, Manicaland, Zimbabwe

Published Paper PDF: https://ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRD2205183.pdf

Published Paper URL: https://ijnrd.org/viewpaperforall?paper=IJNRD2205183

Journal Name: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NOVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT(IJNRD)

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