All counties have been instructed by the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development to provide risk insurance cover to firefighters.
According to housing and Urban Development Principal secretary Aida Munano, firefighters are usually exposed to a variety of fire ground contaminants and therefore need an insurance cover
“Firefighters are exposed to a number of different workplace hazards. Best practice world over is to mitigate the above disadvantage with comprehensive health and risk insurance cover,” Munano is quoted by people daily.
Munano in a letter to county secretaries said that firefighters are prone to the risk of injury or death as a result of exposure to heat and unsound toxic fumes which lead to long-term health problems.
Kenya National Fire Brigade Association (Kenfiba) earlier expressed concerns over health effects to firefighters are exposed to.
The association called on the government to provide medical and insurance cover for members.
“Firefighters are frequently exposed to significant concentrations of hazardous materials,” the association’s secretary general Francis Liech said.