Emergence of aged populace: who is at higher risk in fires?

Abstract

What are the capabilities of occupants who are to be safeguarded during a building fire? What type of disabilities should one assume? An enormous number of people who will experience difficulties once a fire occurs have never been given the consideration they deserve. Aged persons, in particular, who are considered to be disabled due to their limited ability in perception, making decisions and taking action, have almost been neglected. In this society that has an ever escalating number of persons in 65+ year age group, the number of disabled persons is much greater than previously assumed. It may simply be that those disabilities are made to seem invisible because the gap between the capabilities of the 65+ age group and the physical characteristics of the buildings are dealt with by alternative measures (i.e. life safety protection systems). Should a fire occur in which those alternative measures are not effective or insufficient time is available, it would lead to a tremendous disaster that had not been foreseen. Therefore it is desirable to reconsider the philosophy of fire safety in buildings to deal with the dramatic change in the capabilities of occupants. It must be pointed out that the recent disaster in Kobe narrowly escaped a large number of fire fatalities because the majority of people were at home. The main cause of fatalities was being caught under collapsed old timber houses.