Assessment of Emergency Response in the Incident of Building Collapse in Selected Location in Lagos State

Abstract

The incidence of building collapse is one of the emergency events that requires urgent attention due to the loss of lives that usually accompany its occurrence. The study aims at examining the response time and challenges impacting emergency events like building collapses in Lagos. A questionnaire survey was adopted, and a total of eighty (80) respondents were drawn from construction professionals using cluster and purposive sampling techniques. Sixty-one (61) questionnaires were completed and returned, representing a 76% response rate. The data generated were subjected to descriptive analysis using mean scores and inferential statistical analysis using ANOVA. The findings from the study indicated that 30–120 minutes are rated as the appropriate response time to emergency events like building collapses to forestall the loss of lives. The results also indicate that among the top barriers slowing down emergency response, the incidence of collapse includes poor resources and funding, a complex network of governing bodies, poor road and network issues, and a lack of emergency toll-free lines. The results further revealed that none of the factors limiting emergency response is more significant than the others. Hence, the study recommends that to ensure prompt emergency response to the incidence of building failures in Lagos State, every local government area should have an emergency management office with a well-equipped team. It also recommends that the government should not only provide infrastructural facilities such as a good road network; they should also create emergency routes to aid ease of accessibility in the incidence of emergency events like building collapses. Also, the use of ICT like drones and robotics, among others, should be deployed in managing rescue operations in building collapses.