Research Progresses and Needs on Fire Safety of Rural Building in Southern Region of China

Abstract

In recent decades, numerous rural buildings, especially residential ones in southern region of China, have been damaged seriously even destroyed totally by fire hazards. Fires in rural buildings can result in significant losses of life, property, and cultural heritage. Therefore, fire hazards in villages and towns are becoming a growing concern from common people, related experts, to central government. There are few literature on research of rural buildings exposed to fires in China. In this paper, several typical rural building fire cases are introduced firstly. Mechanism of fire spread and structure collapse is qualitatively investigated secondly. Some research progresses and needs on rural building fire in China are given thirdly. The authors hope this paper may provide valuable information for people who hope to learn about the current situation, research progresses and needs on fire safety of rural buildings in China.