90% of saunas in Uganda can explode anytime - study reveals

A new study carried out by the National Building Review Board (NBRB) has revealed that 90% of saunas in Uganda pose a risk to human life because of their likeliness of exploding at any time.

Flavia Gutto Bwire, the executive secretary of NBRB, revealed the findings during a media briefing on Monday, November 6, 2023.

Bwire said that the study surveyed 21 health clubs (saunas) across the country and found that the majority of them were using firewood to generate heat and lacked qualified personnel to monitor its regulation.

She also told the media that many of the designs and installation methods of the wood-fired systems were not based on engineering principles, which makes them dangerous to people’s lives.

The risk assessment study also concluded that for every 10 health clubs, 9 were potentially explosive and required immediate corrective action.

Following the findings of the study, the NBRB has issued guidelines for what is required of these health clubs. These include: health clubs must have a pressure relief or safety valve that releases excess pressure beyond the designed system value; a temperature gauge must be installed in the steam room to monitor the temperature and prevent overheating; a visible clock or timer; and providing unrestricted fresh air for combustion.

Bwire also encouraged owners of health clubs using firewood to generate heat to engage professionals on how they can make their clients safe and ensure routine maintenance of the installations.

The NBRB study comes against the backdrop of two incidents that occurred in 2019 and 2021, which led to the loss of two lives and several injuries as a result of explosions at health clubs.

In 2019, a health club in Naalya, Kira Municipality, exploded, and several people got injured. In 2021, another incident occurred at the Experience Inn Health Club in Wakiso, leaving two people dead.