Professor Lee Miles has contributed significantly to the development of new procedures for the local authorities in Sierra Leone to handle emergencies and disasters at large dumpsites and waste collection sites in the capital city of Freetown.
Smoking landfill site in Freetown"Fires are one of the most pressing and rapidly emerging threats to Freetown鈥檚 population of well over one million people,鈥� explained Professor Miles from the university鈥檚 Disaster Management Centre. 鈥淩egular uncontrolled fires reap havoc across city. They are a constant threat to local communities, where some of the city鈥檚 poorest people live and work. Last year alone there were well above forty major fires in the city,鈥� he added.
With the onset of climate change impacts, Freetown鈥檚 emergency services are under constant pressure, challenging the ability of the city to meet United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UNSDG) targets. In particular, the vulnerability of the two large dump sites (Kingtom and Kissy), located in middle of the capital, to urban fires, has been specifically identified as being of major concern. Chemical, biological or waste induced fires could spread rapidly across the city from these sites and represents a real danger.
The new Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) were launched officially at a major event on 28 July, involving police, firefighters, non-governmental organisations and key municipal staff employed at the dumpsites and waste transfer stations working across the city. They aim to enhance the resilience of the city鈥檚 waste and sanitation management, particularly in relation to handling emergencies and disasters affecting the city鈥檚 huge dumpsites.
The SOP draws upon results and recommendations from the Driving African Capacity Building in Disaster Management (AFRICAB) project led by Professor Miles. The project was funded by the UK Government鈥檚 Global Challenges Research Fund and partnered the university鈥檚 Disaster Management Centre, Freetown City Council 聽and Sierra Leone鈥檚 National Disaster Management Agency.
鈥淭here are specific sections in the SOP that highlight the main hazards and single points of failure 聽that waste and disaster managers should address,鈥� said Professor Miles.
Local authority staff and emergency service workers discuss the new disaster management proceduresThe SOP is part of Freetown City Council鈥檚 plans to significantly improve management and safety of waste collection and disposal across the city. The SOP launch was alongside two-days of practical fire-fighting training for workers at all dumpsite and transfer stations.
鈥淭hese procedures will help the local authorities in Freetown build more capacity to protect their staff as well as citizens from the risk of serious fires and respond to them quickly when they do occur,鈥� said Professor Miles. 鈥淭hey will help strengthen the city鈥檚 resilience and reduce the impact on people鈥檚 livelihoods as well as air pollution on the environment,鈥� he concluded.
James M. Sesay, the supervising manager for Freetown鈥檚 dumpsites and transfer stations commented:
"The expertise of Professor Miles, along with the results from the AFRICAB project completed in 2021, have provided a major contribution to shaping the new Standard Operating Procedures that are being launched by Freetown City Council in 2022. Understanding the main hazards and single points of failure that can challenge the effectiveness of handling emergencies and disasters at the city鈥檚 dumpsites and building this understanding into our new procedures represents a major step forward. It will enhance the ability of staff and stakeholders to keep the dumpsites and transfer stations safe and secure as best they can in these challenging times of climate change."
