Police officers from the Fire and Rescue Brigade are currently undergoing training on how to operate the drones, which are expected to strengthen the country’s capacity to respond to fire outbreaks.
The development was announced on November 6, 2026, during a media briefing organised by the Ministry of Infrastructure following inspections to assess compliance with fire safety regulations in various buildings.
The inspection team visited Inkundamahoro Market in Nyabugogo, a building in Niboye Sector, Kicukiro District, that recently caught fire while being used for furniture manufacturing, as well as a building housing a car dealership.
The Minister of State in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Col. Claudien Bizimungu, said the 1,300 fires recorded over the past five years had caused significant losses to residents and the country’s economy.
He explained that the growing use of energy sources, particularly gas and electricity, could increase the risk of fires if the equipment involved is not handled properly.
“In some buildings, people use gas and electrical appliances for cooking, sometimes operating them side by side when they should be kept separate. This can increase the risk of fire outbreaks,” he said.
Col. Bizimungu also pointed out that some buildings store highly flammable materials together, contrary to safety regulations.
“We found places where metal equipment was stored together with wooden materials, paint containers, petrol, alcohol and other substances. If a fire breaks out in such circumstances, putting it out would be difficult,” he said.
He expressed concern that some of these materials were stored close to areas where people work or sleep, putting lives at risk in the event of a fire.
Some buildings lack adequate emergency exits
The inspections also revealed that some buildings do not have sufficient emergency exits to allow occupants to evacuate safely during fires, while others lack equipment needed to support firefighting operations.
At Inkundamahoro Market, for instance, some water supply systems designed for firefighting, as well as certain fire-extinguishing equipment, were found to be non-functional.
Col. Bizimungu stressed that buildings must have adequate emergency evacuation routes, fire detection systems and alarm equipment to alert occupants in the event of a fire.
He said the Government was continuing to strengthen fire prevention measures through inspections to enforce safety regulations and efforts to improve the capacity of firefighting agencies.
He warned building owners and occupants that failure to comply with fire safety requirements could result in accountability if investigations establish that negligence contributed to a fire outbreak.
The acquisition of firefighting drones is among the new measures being pursued by the Government to strengthen emergency response capabilities and limit the damage caused by fires to people’s property and livelihoods.
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