Abstract
A sufficient supply of water for firefighting is critical for effective responses to urban fires, thus reducing fire hazards. The aim of this study was the development of an analysis method for vulnerable areas with respect to firefighting activities that require the use of fire hydrants. In particular, a method was proposed for the determination of the operational range of firefighting activities based on the distribution of the fire hydrants and the roads that allow for the passage of firefighting vehicles. The proposed method, which employs a geographic information system (GIS), was applied to Buk-gu, Daegu City, South Korea. The research results revealed that the operational range of firefighting activities and vulnerable areas can be determined by studying the connection between the fire hydrant locations and the fire brigade in the analysis of the accessible areas. This study contributes to the development of GIS analysis methods for comprehensive vulnerability analyses of firefighting activities, including accessibility to fire hydrants.
Highlights
Fire incidents cause huge casualties and property damage every year
A method was developed to determine the operational range of firefighting activities based on the distribution of fire hydrants and roads through which firefighting vehicles can pass and to determine the vulnerable areas based on this range
A novel geographic information system (GIS)-based analysis method is proposed, which considers the widths of roads and firefighting vehicles, in addition to the water supply strategies, with respect to the distance between fire hydrants and the fire sites
Summary
Fire incidents cause huge casualties and property damage every year. When a building is attacked by a fire, it has a direct negative impact on the sustainability of the building, and affects the broader environment and community. Kahanji et al [3] analysed the causes and diffusion factors of a large fire that occurred in Cape Town, South Africa (March 2017), and it was found that the efforts of firefighters to extinguish the fire were interrupted by various factors, such as narrow access roads, lack of sufficient water supply in the area, and community interactions within specific areas. Considering these cases, high-capacity hydrants are critical for the reduction of fire hazards. Fire hydrants were considered in studies for the evaluation of regional fire risks or the capacity of fire stations, e.g., [4,5,6,7,8]
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