Impact of Fire Safety Awareness on Fire Safety Management Performance at International Airports in Kenya

Purpose: Fire outbreaks are global hazard with a potential to cause injuries, loss of life and damage to properties. To mitigate against these fires, fire safety awareness which encompasses educating personnel on fire causes, prevention strategies, proper use of firefighting equipment, and evacuation procedures should be provided to employees and management during the design and construction phases of a building. This study assessed fire safety awareness among management and employees and examined the extent to which fire safety awareness influenced the overall performance of fire safety management at international airports in Kenya. Materials and Methods: The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey, involving 310 employees and 169 Management respectively at International airports in Kenya. It involved use of questionnaires and observation to collect data from respondents, analysis and presentation of the data in a descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings: Linear regression coefficients showed strong negative relationship between fire safety awareness and obstacle to implementation of fire safety management. The prediction factor was -0.67, p<0.05; showing that a unit increase in fire safety awareness predicted a decrease of 0.67 units of hindrance in fire safety management implementation. The null hypothesis, failed in favour of the alternative hypothesis. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: This study was supported by Knowledge Attitude Practice (KAP) model which demonstrates that increased awareness directly influences attitudes and behaviours which improves fire safety management performance. In addition, the study contributes to High Reliability Organization (HRO) theory by highlighting the role of continuous learning and situational awareness in maintaining resilience in complex, safety-critical operations areas such as airports. The study concluded that lack of fire safety awareness among employees and management had impact on the performance of fire safety management in the study areas and recommended training of employees and management on fire safety to enhance their knowledge on use and operations of fire protection systems, fire hazard identification and evacuation procedures, inclusion of fire safety training in the induction program for the newly employed as well as regular fire safety refresher training for all.