TABLE OF CONTENT
Title page
Approval page
Dedication
Acknowledgment
Abstract
Table of content
CHAPETR ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
1.2 Statement of problem
1.3 Research questions
1.4 Objective of the study
1.5 Significance of the study
1.6 Scope of the study
1.7 Definition of terms
CHAPETR TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 introduction
2.2 conceptual review
2.3 empirical review
CHAPETR THREE
3.0 Research methodology
3.1 sources of data collection
3.3 Population of the study
3.4 Sampling and sampling distribution
3.5 Validation of research instrument
3.6 Method of data analysis
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 Introductions
4.2 Data analysis
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Summary
5.3 Conclusion
5.4 Recommendation
Appendix
Abstract
Fire disasters are accompanied with devastating impact affecting both lives and properties. The magnitude of the impacts has been severe in places with low levels of fire disaster preparedness. This study focused on Ugheli Delta state fire service, to investigate the level of fire disaster preparedness considering the availability and condition of firefighting facilities as well as the knowledge on fire management among the selected institutions in the study area. Information for the buildings was obtained from the interviews with the managers of the buildings and field observations; information on the user’s preparedness was obtained from interviews using structured questionnaire conducted with the users of the buildings including the visitors.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background of the study
A disaster may be natural or human-made incident that causes destruction that cannot be relieved without assistance. The damage caused by fire disaster reflects in many ways, and the impacts can be as complex as the economy itself. (Bartelmus, 2002). Disaster is also defined as a phenomenon that produces large-scale disruption of societal infrastructure and the normal healthcare system, that presents immediate threat to public health, and requires external assistance for response (Bradt and Drummond, 2007). As population increases, fire occurrence increases in various forms which seem to be inseparable from man’s carelessness such as illegal electrical connections, domestic use of fire and storing of fuel at home amongst others. These results into outrageous fire disaster causing a significant pain, loss of lives and property, stress, the wreckage of social and family ties with the environment. According to Rowland et al., (2007) there are four major problems associated with fire disasters that retard or impede development namely; (I). Loss of resources (II) Interruption of programmes and switching from crucial resources to other, shorter-term calamities (111) Disruption of the non-formal sector and (1V). The adverse impacts on investment climate. Fire is a dominant hazard in the workplace. Human factors such as carelessness, negligence and lack of fire safety awareness are some of the leading causes of fire outbreaks. Despite the technological advancement in fire safety, fire remains the leading cause of lives and property loss at commercial and industrial facilities worldwide (Blank, 2004) and fire could lead to the premature winding up of an organisation no matter how big it is. Management commitment to fire safety is reinforced by having the right people, procedures and systems in place but most times an investigation into a workplace incident reveals a gap between the mainstream business and safety management (Scott, 2010). For instance, there was a fire incident in a plastic factory in Ikorodu, Lagos, Nigeria in 2002 where many workers were roasted to death at night because the owners of the factory locked the workers in. This high disregard for human life stems from the reality that management of some organizations focus primarily on financial gain and tend to view any investment in safety management as a distraction. Scott (2010) reported that the Financial Times newspaper conducted a global multiindustry survey of 650 executives in the energy, financial, manufacturing, life science, technology and transportation industries. It concluded that many companies are going through changes but their risk management systems are not very effective. More than one third of the executives considered their biggest challenge as that of aligning risk data to strategies and operations. The US Marine Municipal Association reports that about 15% of fires result from equipment failure while 85% are caused by factors related to human behavior (RMS, 2004). In 1974 at Flixborough, UK a factory fire claimed 18 lives and injured 38 people. Investigation revealed that plant modification, design, construction and layout of the plant failed to consider the potential for a major disaster happening instantaneously (ICB, 2010). In January 2003, devastating fires and explosions destroyed a North Carolina Pharmaceutical Plant, 6 lives were lost and 38 workers injured. The investigation revealed that there were inadequacies in hazard assessment, communication and Engineering Management (CSB, 2004). In 2005, a fire incident in Texas City Refinery claimed 15 lives and injured 170 workers. Factors responsible were operator error, equipment risk and staff management failures and working culture at the site (Body, 2010). Disaster preparedness is one of the important elements in disaster risk reduction and it encompasses community awareness, readiness to render appropriate responses and quick recovery (Ejeta et al. 2015). Despite its importance, less has been done globally to improve the levels of disaster preparedness (Paton 2003). Little has been documented on the levels of preparedness for specific types of disasters, specially for developing countries like Tanzania. Disaster preparedness can be enhanced through strengthening the community capacities, education and improving the preventive mechanisms (Mathbor 2007). Knowledge on the levels of preparedness can inform the disaster management process and lead to well-informed plans and decisions. On the other hand, lack of disaster preparedness as it has been reported in some categories of disaster such as floods and landslides (Miceli et al. 2008), hurricanes (Howe 2011), earthquakes (Srinivas & Nakagawa 2008) and fires (Kukali & Kabuka 2009) can result in negative economic and social consequences (Wilson et al. 2007). Therefore, preparedness becomes an important aspect for achieving sustainable disaster management. Disaster preparedness in this context is defined as the measures taken to prepare for and reduce the effects of disasters. This involves prediction, where possible prevention, mitigation, appropriate responses and effective coping mechanisms against the consequences. Prevention and reduction as well as appropriate responses depend much on the public awareness and the availability and condition of supportive facilities.
- STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Fire disaster in buildings is among the known man-made disasters with the most devastating events that cost life and properties (Shaluf 2007; Xin & Huang 2013). Globally, many recurring fire incidences have been reported (Ibe et al. 2014). Apart from loss of property and life, fire disasters have been associated with prevalence of diseases that have been reported to contribute about 1% of the global diseases burden (Leistikow et al. 2000). The most devastating effects caused by fire in buildings, as recorded in literature, include the collapse of the World Trade Centre (Cowlard et al. 2013), the fire disaster in Sweden that occurred in 1998 killing 63 people (Cassuto & Tarnow 2003), and the Mumbai and Sharjah high-rise buildings fire incidences to mention a few. It is in view of the above that the researcher investigate the assessment of emergency preparedness of fire service in Delta state fire service in Ugheli.
- OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main objective of this study is to examine the emergency preparedness of fire service in Delta state; the specific objectives are;
- To examine the importance of emergency preparedness in combating fire disaster
- To ascertain if there is any significant relationship between emergency preparedness and effective fire disaster combat.
- To ascertain the effect of preparedness on the effectiveness of fire service in Ugheli
- To proffer suggested solutions to the identified problem
- RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions were formulated by the researcher to aid the completion of the study;
- Is there any importance of emergency preparedness in combating fire disaster?
- Is there any significant relationship between emergency preparedness and effective fire disaster combat?
- Does preparedness enhanced the effectiveness of fire service in Ugheli
- RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
The following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher to aid the completion of the study;
H0: There is no significant relationship between emergency preparedness and effective fire disaster combat
H1: There is a significant relationship between emergency preparedness and effective fire disaster combat
- SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It is believed that at the completion of the study, the findings will be beneficial to the Nigeria fire service as the study seek to examine the importance of emergency preparedness in fighting fire disaster in Ugheli, the study will also be of importance to the staff of Nigeria fire service on the need to ensure that all firefighting equipment are in good shapes. The study will also be of great importance to researchers who intend to embark on a study in a similar topic as the study will serve as a reference point to further research. The study will also be useful to student teachers, academia’s and the general public as the study will contribute to the pool of existing literature and also contribute to knowledge on the subject matter.
- SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The scope of the study covers the assessment of emergency preparedness of fire service in Delta state, but in the course of the study, there are some factors that limit the scope of the study;
AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher have to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
FINANCE: The finance available for the research work does not allow for wider coverage as resources are very limited as the researcher has other academic bills to cover.
1.8 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
Emergency
An emergency is a situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation, although in some situations, mitigation may not be possible and agencies may only be able to offer palliative care for the aftermath
Preparedness
Preparedness refers to a very concrete research-based set of actions that are taken as precautionary measures in the face of potential disasters.
Fire service
The Federal Fire Service has the statutory responsibility for rescue fire prevention, mitigation, firefighting as well as paramedical and information services
1.9 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows
Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), statement of problem, objectives of the study, research question, significance or the study, research methodology, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlight the theoretical framework on which the study its based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding. Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.
