There have been no major security and safety incidents (i.e. fires; food poisoning; epidemic outbreaks; harassment incidents; vandalism; etc) at any of the campuses since operational commencement. All campuses employ in-house unarmed security guards, who receive training provided by a qualified external trainer on topics such as professional behavior and good conduct, and neutralizing security scenarios including the exercise of restraint where the use of force becomes inevitable. There are detailed procedures in place on the maintenance and use of security apparatus and equipment.
The company has been planning actions to reinforce life and fire safety at its campuses, and is in regular contact with local fire departments which conduct regular and irregular on-site inspections. An on-site fire brigade has been installed at the CCHST campus by the municipal fire department, staffed by 10 firemen who are employed directly by the CCHST, and equipped with fire engines and other equipment. The reason for having this on-site team is that the municipal fire brigade is located too far away to be able to carry out daily inspections and put out fires in a timely manner. This team is responsible for L&FS inspections and fire-fighting at the campus as well as at nearby residences, grocery stores, small guest houses, restaurants, and hilly areas outside the campus perimeter. The on-site fire brigade station kept records of daily inspections against a list of six indicators. Fire-fighting, inspection, prevention, and emergency preparedness and response procedures kept at the station can be improved.
There was a minor fire incident at a local guest house outside the CCHST campus perimeter about 10 years ago – the fire was put out by the campus brigade and resulted in no casualty or injuries. In October 2015, a minor L&FS incident transpired at one dormitory building whereby an electrical switch caught fire – this was swiftly put out by the on-site fire brigade, with no casualty or injury resulting from the incident.
As of 30 November 2016, The CCHST campus consisted of up to 164 buildings including dormitory buildings mostly built around 1999-2002, and also a small number of newer teaching and administrative buildings constructed in 2014-2015 as part of campus expansion. Most dormitory and other buildings comprise up to 7 floors without elevators. Strict access control is exercised at each male or female only dormitory building.
IFC’s visit to several dormitories (and other buildings) found the following in relation to life and fires safety (L&FS): (i) each building had 3-4 exits on the ground floor and two flights of stairs, the width of which had been designed to allow for egress based on occupancy load; (ii) any heating or cooking devices were strictly prohibited in dorm rooms to eliminate an important potential ignition source; (iii) the 2nd and 3rd exit doors were pad-locked for safety reasons to prevent non-building-residents from entering the building through those doors – however the company recognized that doing so posed a dilemma in terms of blocking emergency exits. It will be noted that at a newer classroom building an emergency exit was also found to be pad-locked from the inside; (iv) dormitory corridors were generally dark with limited lighting; (v) fire-fighting equipment, signage, and emergency lighting were in place but some of the equipment appeared to not have been inspected for some time and there were no dated inspection records placed on them; (vi) there were records of regular inspections/verification of electrical system functionality by the ASD Department – however these were generic with no further details available; (vii) Some of the overhead electrical wirings and connections appeared to be loose, exposed and tangled; (viii) in certain ground floor public rooms, there were piles of used clothing and beddings which would constitute combustible materials in case of fire; (ix) fire drills are performed twice a year; (x) abundant water for fire-fighting is supplied to each building by the municipal water supply company; and (xi) sprinklers were installed in visited cafeteria’s - as per the updated national fire code, buildings constructed post-2011 would typically have sprinklers installed, especially where the combustible loading and ignition risk was considered to be substantive.
At the PI campus, dormitory buildings had multiple staircases and exits which were kept open and unlocked at all times to ensure unimpeded egress, and their design took into account each building’s occupancy load. Signage, emergency lighting, and fire extinguishers were in place but the equipment did not have dated inspection records placed on them. The PI campus, given its urban location, is under the jurisdiction of the local municipal fire brigade. Most dormitory buildings were built after 2010. Fire drills by the local brigade are performed twice a year including simulated evacuations.
To address the above findings, the company has commissioned a qualified L&FS professional entity to undertake the following (refer to the ESAP for details) work, in concert with its planned L&FS reinforcement actions. In carrying out these tasks, the professional entity has engaged the company’s campus engineers and technical personnel, so as to use this as an opportunity to help them gain exposure to L&FS good international industry practice.
(i) Undertake a review of the L&FS design, building infrastructure, emergency response capabilities, and operational aspects of the company’s existing buildings at project campuses. Where deficiencies in relation to national fire code requirements are identified, develop a corrective action plan (CAP) which the company is expected to duly implement. As part of this, the company will also provide a copy of all relevant and applicable L&FS permits and licenses to IFC.
(ii) Review the L&FS Master Plan prepared by the company for each new facility cluster (whether green field, or brownfield campus buildings to be acquired by the company and to undergo major renovations) and to verify that its design meets the requirements of the national L&FS code/regulations and one internationally recognized L&FS code (e.g. U.S. NFPA) as defined in the World Bank Group (WBG) General Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Guidelines 2007. Where gaps are identified, develop a CAP for the company to update the Master Plan.
(iii) Upon completion of construction of a new facility cluster (i.e. a collection of campus facilities and buildings) or substantive renovation of an existing facility cluster, undertake a completion review to verify that the buildings have been constructed/renovated in accordance with the facility's L&FS Master Plan as finalized under (ii) above, and where gaps are identified, develop a CAP to be implemented by the company.
