Abstract:
Fire, with its sudden appearance and destructive character, causes property losses and
sometimes death and injury within a short time. High density of population and structures
make the urban areas more vulnerable to fire hazard. In this context, fire incidents are
very common in Dhaka city, especially in relatively densely populated areas. And the city
is experiencing huge economic loss due to the increasing trend of fire incidents. To fight
against these incidents properly the capacity of fire stations should be ensured according
to the area specific land use features and population demand. The first objective of this
research is to study the distribution pattern of the fire incidences in different land use
categories of Dhaka Metropolitan Area (DMA). The study also identified the areas where
frequency of fire incidents is higher. To study the land use characteristics and the firefighting
capacity of the fire stations serving the areas with frequent fire incidences is
another objective of this research. Data of fire incidents have been collected from the
record book of fire stations during the year 2011-2013. Distribution of fire incidents has
been analyzed according to different land use categories and structure types. The hot
spots have been identified on the basis of density of fire occurrences using Kernel Density
tool. Then three thanas have been selected from three broad land use categories like
commercial and mixed use, industrial use and residential use having higher density value
of fire incidents. Land use features like land use categories, type and height of the
structures, access road width and availability of water body of three selected thanas have
been revealed. Then detail fire-fighting capacity of the fire stations, serving these three
selected areas, has been assessed comparing with some national and international
standard with respect to coverage area, size of serving population, standard service area,
capacity of manpower and vehicle capacity. Analysis has been done on the basis of
population demand and respective land use characteristics. The basic problems associated
with fire-fighting activities, identified by the fire officials is firstly the absence of fixed
water source to extinguish fire. Narrow access road of a large number of buildings is
another challenging issue for the fire staffs. Moreover, to serve the huge urban population
manpower capacity of the stations is insufficient. The findings of the research may help
the respective authority to take necessary steps to improve fire-fighting facility to ensure
better fire safety.
