Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Abstract
Fires cause the greatest loss of life and property in urban areas. Urban fires have devastating
impact on communities. Unplanned urbanization has intensified the problem further. The
number of fire incidents in Dhaka was 1,861 in 2003, 2,053 in 2004, and 2,279 in 2005 (The
New Age, 2007). To mitigate such disasters at community level, community participation is
important. To strengthen the resiliency of a community to natural and man-made hazards,
before they become disasters, must first begin with a comprehensive risk and vulnerability
assessment. Community vulnerability assessment tool (CVAT) is a useful method to assess
vulnerability of a community to any hazard. In this study, the traditional community of ward
72 of Dhaka has been selected to conduct a Community vulnerability assessment. CVAT
method has been applied here in five steps. At first, a hazard map was created by using six
attributes namely accessibility, fire fighting scenario, transformer and power line, floor area
ratio, building material type and location of risky fire sources in the study area. Each of them
was assigned a value using Analytic Hierarchy Process based on experts’ opinions. Then the
following vulnerability analyses were conducted namely social vulnerability, critical facilities
vulnerability, economic vulnerability and environmental vulnerability. Going to accomplish
these vulnerability analyses different field surveys were conducted. Secondary data was also
collected from Dhaka City Corporation. Each of the vulnerability analysis includes certain
specific steps which ultimately lead to a vulnerability map. Then by using ARCGIS, the data
were processed and maps were prepared. After preparing the hazard map, it was overlaid
with each of the maps like, maps of critical facilities, economic activities, etc. By using some
parameters and attributes then it was evaluated that how much vulnerable the community
was to fire in various aspects from every intersected map. Finally the overall vulnerability of
the community was then assessed. After completing the assessment it was found that
vulnerability of the community to fire hazard is low. It should be noted that the result can be
different if many other attributes are taken into account which was not possible in this study
for various shortcomings. However, this study will provide a baseline to prioritize mitigation
measures and to evaluate the effectiveness of those measures over time in the community.
1
The rapid urban growth greatly increases the vulnerability of the country’s major population
and economic centers. Increasing urbanization in the context of Dhaka presents major
challenges and opportunities for the reduction of disaster impact in the future. While floods
have the greatest impact to the country’s population as a whole, fires cause the greatest loss
of life and property in the urban areas. Dense building concentrations, narrow roads,
flammable building materials, aging water supply and electrical system, as well as the lack of
resources to upgrade preparedness and response skills have resulted in a growing risk of large
scale, multiple structure fires.
Fire incidents are very common in Dhaka city, especially in relatively densely populated
areas. The damage of property and loss of human life are intensified by different factors. The
number of fire incidents in Dhaka was 1,861 in 2003, 2,053 in 2004, and 2,279 in 2005 (The
New Age, February 10, 2007). Not only in Dhaka but also other major cities which have
dense and unplanned urbanization suffer the wrath of fire from time to time. For instance,
fires broke out at Rahattarpul and Badurtala in Chittagong on 10th March, 2006. The fire,
which originated from an electric short circuit, burnt assets worth about Tk.7 lakh, the fire
officials said (The New Age, March 11, 2006).
The fire officials established the extent of losses in fire incidents are as follows:
From the table it is evident that the economic loss due to fire incidents is increasing
gradually. A developing country like us cannot afford the huge amount of loss caused by fire
accidents every year. Especially in most of the cases the victims are the poor people of the
society. They can hardly bear the dire consequences of these tragic accidents. Babupura Basti
in Nilkhet, Muktijoddha Basti in Mohammadpur, Bhasantek Basti, Boubazar Basti in
Rayerbazar, Godown Basti in Banani, Shamimarar Basti in Demra, Jasimer Basti in
Narayanganj and Kaderabad Housing Basti were among those which were fully and partly
damaged by fire since January 2003.
Moreover, fire incidents in shops, industrial and commercial buildings cause heavy toll of life
and property. In the recent time, there were huge losses of property due to some big fire
incidents in the garments factories. The major causes of those incidents were non-
compliance of government's fire fighting and extinguishing law 2003. Besides, disasters in
many family lives, such fire incidents also tarnished image of the country. Unplanned
urbanization and rapid industrialization are the major causes of a huge number of fire related
accidents inflicting colossal damage to lives and property in the country every year.
According to a report on Role of Fire Services in Mitigating Losses in Fire Related Incidents,
the major accidents occur in readymade garment (RMG) factories that have been flourishing
in the country since early nineties. Over 350 garment workers have died and some 1,500 been
injured in fire-related incidents since 1990 (The Daily Star, February 25, 2006).
The fire incidents are on an increase due to lack of awareness, almost no feeling for following
safety measures and practicing fire fighting drills, violation of building codes and non-
compliance with the Fire Checking and Extinguishing Law, 2003, said the sources.
2
Besides, the poor fire fighting equipments of the Fire Service and absence of infrastructure
supports like street hydrants and construction of fire-lanes in busy cities are the reasons that
hamper tackling such emergency situations.
Whether a disaster is major or minor, of national or local proportion, it is the people at the
community or village level who suffer its adverse effects. Under these circumstances, the
effect of fire catastrophes on the people of a community will be significant and
comprehensive. It affects a community in many ways. Whenever a fire outbreaks in an area,
many people become homeless. The economic activity of the area is adversely affected and if
the centers of their economic activity are gutted in fire, it becomes very difficult for the
community to continue their normal life. Besides any harmful impact on critical facilities like
educational centers, healthcare facilities, shops and markets, offices, etc. can make the
situation direr.
Ward 72 of Old Dhaka is one of the oldest areas of Dhaka city. People of both religions
Hindus and Muslims have gathered here for centuries and have been living in peace and
harmony. But this area is now a high density population area. It has some unique
characteristics which can make it vulnerable to any kind of natural and man-made disaster.
Inspite of some deadly threats, no research or project has been undertaken to assess the
vulnerability of the community to examine the gravity of the situation or to fin out the ways
of being prepared to face the disaster.
3
Map 1. The study area, ward 72
4
METHODOLOGY
This study entails a five-step process that has been described below.
Accessibility: Accessibility is one of the important attributes for making fire vulnerability
map. Because fire affected buildings are served by fire engines coming from fire Stations. If
the road in front of the affected building is not accessible for fire engines, the buildings can
not be served effectively by fire fighters and it become vulnerable to fire.
To prepare the accessibility map, at first assumption was made on the basis of expert opinion.
Assumption was –
“Less then 10 feet wide road are not accessible for fire car.”
Roads which are less then 10 feet were selected. Some roads which are grater then 10 feet but
get access from less than 10 feet road, also were selected. Then the buildings which get
access from those roads were marked as “Not accessible” and others as “Accessible” in the
accessibility map.
Fire fighting scenario: To prepare the fire fighting scenario map, at first all the local fire
stations around the study area were located and then based on the distance of fire station from
the study area, the study area was divided into zones as serviceable or not serviceable by the
fire stations. Capacity of fire fighting of the fire stations was considered on the basis of their
equipments and manpower.
Transformer and power lines: To prepare this map, the poles bearing electric transformers and
electricity wire were located by field survey. Then a certain buffer area of 4 meter was
demarcated around each pole and the plots within this buffer area were located. Those
buildings are marked as the vulnerable plots in this map.
Floor area ratio (FAR): To prepare the floor area ratio map, built-up area and building heights
in stories of the each plot were calculated. Then built-up area was multiplied with the
building height (stories) to get the total floor area. The floor area of all buildings of a mohalla
was divided by the plot area of the mohalla. This resulted in floor area ratio. The equations of
floor area ratio are given bellow:
Floor area = Build area × Building height (stories)
5
Floor area ratio (mohalla wise) = (Total floor area of the mohalla ÷
Total plot area of the mohalla)
Finally, the different mohallas were classified on the basis of floor area ratio.
Building material type: All the buildings were classified as pucca, semi-pucca and kutcha.
Kutcha and semi pucca on the basis of building materials and presented in the map.
Availability of fire sources: In the study area, there are activities that can either ignite or
intensify a fire. Plots with such activities were located and demarcated in the map.
Next, these six maps were integrated to create the fire vulnerability map. Before that the
above mentioned attributes were ranked according to importance using the Analytic
Hierarchy Process (AHP). But the AHP process requires a pre-defined score or weight to
input and that has been taken from 15 renowned fire experts of the country.
6
2. Intersection of secondary risk sites and fire risk consideration areas. This was done by
overlaying the environmental sites with the hazard risk consideration areas.
Before that the above mentioned attributes were ranked according to importance using the
Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). But the AHP process requires a pre-defined score or
weight to input and that has been taken from 15 renowned fire experts of the country. The
process of obtaining the score is given below:
Score for building = weight for accessibility × (1 for No access or 0 for Access) + Weight for
transformer and power line× ( 0 for Not Vulnerable or 1 for Vulnerable for electricity pole or
2 for Vulnerable for Transformer) + Weight for floor area ratio× (0 for Very Low floor area
ratio or 1 for Moderately Low floor area ratio……..) + Weight for building material type × (1
for Pucca or 2 for Semi-kutcha or 3 for Kutcha) + Weight for availability of fire source × (1
for Available of fire sources and 0 for No available of fire source)
The five attributes are road accessibility (A1), transformer and electrical wire (A2), floor area
ratio (A3), building material type (A4) and availability of fire source (A5). A normalized set of
weights was established to be used when comparing alternatives using these attributes. A pair
wise comparison matrix M was formed where the number in the ith row and jth column gives
the relative importance of Ai as compared with Aj. 1-5 Scale was selected from the eight
expert’s opinion. aij = 1 if the two objectives are equal in importance and aij = 2 if Ai is more
important than Aj.
1
1 3 2 2
2
1 1 1
1 2
3 2 3
M= 1 1 1
2 1
2 2 2
1 1 1
2 1
2 2 3
2 3 2 3 1
7
To normalize the weights, the sums of each column were computed and then each column
was divided by the corresponding sum. Thus N was used to denote normalization.
0.247
0.122
W= 0.141
0.135
0.354
Accessibility 0.247
Transformer and power line 0.122
Floor Area Ratio (FAR) 0.141
Building material type 0.135
Availability of fire source 0.354
Hazard score for each building was calculated by the above equation using the derived
weight. On the basis of this hazard score all the buildings were classified and it is shown in
the Fire Vulnerability Map. The plots of the map were classified into five classes: low,
moderately low, moderate, moderately high and high.
It is unusual for the entire comparison matrix to be consistent. To determine whether or not a
level of consistency is reasonable a quantifiable measure for comparison matrix M was
developed. The Consistency Ratio (CR) is acceptable if it is less or equal to 0.1. As the
calculated CR comes below 0.01, consistency of comparison matrix is acceptable.
8
Map 2. fire vulnerability map
9
Figure 2. Quantitative comparison of vulnerability of buildings
The map shows that most of the buildings are moderately vulnerable for fire. Number of high
vulnerable buildings is significantly low. The most vulnerable area is Syed Awlad Hossain
Road and Naba Ray Lane. The vulnerability score of buildings of the study area range from
0.41 to 0.94 out of 1. Even within these two mohallas there are some buildings which are
highly vulnerable to fire which are denoted by dark brown color in Map 2.
At first all the critical facilities in ward 72 were identified and a complete inventory of these
facilities was prepared. Then critical facilities that are in and within close proximity to high
risk areas were identified by overlying the critical facilities location over the map of fire
vulnerable areas. From the survey the following Critical Facility categories have been found:
• Educational institutions
• Religious centers
• Government organizations
• Other offices
• Healthcare facilities
• Bank
• Community facilities
• NGO offices
• Kutcha Bazaars
• Police stations
For preparing the inventory following information has been collected from the GIS map and
field survey regarding the critical facilities-
• Facility type
• Facility name
• Street address
• Fire district
• Holding no.
10
Finally the following map was prepared that represents which critical facilities are vulnerable
to fire and which are not.
11
Map 3. Critical facilities vulnerability map
12
Key findings
The map shows that the critical facilities of Syed Awlad Hossain Road, Naba Roy Lane, Hori
Prasanna Mitra Road, and Utshab Poddar Lane are more vulnerable than those of other
mohallas. On the contrary, critical facilities of Johnson Road, Court House Street, and Dr.
Hrishikesh Das Road are less vulnerable to fire hazard.
From the study it is clear that
there is no critical facility
in the high risk area. On the
contrary, most of the critical
facilities (49%) are located
within the low vulnerable area.
A significant percentage of
facilities (35%) are located
within the moderately low
vulnerable area. Again, only 4%
of critical facilities were
found to be located in the
moderately high vulnerable area.
So it can be said that the critical facilities of the study area are not at high risk from fire. It
has a significant impact on the later stages of disaster management. Service interruption can
be reduced or eliminated during any fire disaster and many of these facilities will play a
central role in disaster response and recovery.
Population density
At first, Population density of every mohalla of the study area was calculated and then it was
intersected with the fire vulnerability map. If the population density of a mohalla is high it
would be more vulnerable to hazard. Besides, if the population density of a mohalla is high
and number of vulnerable buildings is also higher in that mohalla, the societal vulnerability
13
of the mohalla will be significant. For example, Map 4 represents that Radhika Mohan Bosak
Lane has high population density and the mohalla also has some buildings that are highly and
moderately highly vulnerably to fire hazards. Prasanna Poddar Lane and Syed Awlad Hossain
Road have medium population density but also have buildings that are highly vulnerable to
fire.
14
Map 4. Intersection of population density and fire vulnerable plots
15
Gender
Gender affects vulnerability. Women are more likely than men are to hold low-status jobs or
jobs in the informal economy, which often disappear after a disaster strikes. Women are also
more vulnerable to disasters because of their roles as mothers and caregivers: when disaster is
about to strike, their ability to seek safety is restricted by their responsibilities to the very
young and the very old, both of whom require help and supervision (Lisa et al, 2005).
16
Map 5. Intersection of women population and fire vulnerable plots
The study shows that female population density is high (12 to 15%) and significant (9 to
12%) in Prasanna Poddar Lane and Naba Roy Lane respectively and there are some buildings
in both of these areas that are highly vulnerable to fire. Female population is also dense in
Utshab Poddar Lane but it is moderately vulnerable to fire. Radhika Mohan Bosak Lane has
less female population and considerable number of vulnerable buildings.
Age group
Age group is another criterion for analyzing social vulnerability. Both young and old people
may be unable to respond to disasters on their own (Clark et al., 1998). Older people also
tend to be more reluctant to evacuate. In addition to the physical difficulties imposed by
evacuation, older people tend to be distressed by the prospect of leaving their own homes and
living in group quarters (Lisa et al, 2005). To prepare a map showing vulnerable age groups
in different buildings, at first groups are classified. Only those age groups are then selected
which are more vulnerable to fire. Selected age groups are “below 10 years” and “Above 60
years”. Then the population within the vulnerable age groups is distributed among the
residential buildings in proportion to floor area. The buildings are next classified by the
number of people from vulnerable age groups as shown in Table 3.
Map 6 shows the distribution of targeted age group of people in different vulnerable plots.
Literacy rate
Literacy makes the people more aware about disaster and thus affects disaster management to
a great extent. But according to the report of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), literacy
rate of almost all the mohallas of the study area is around 80%. So it will not impose much
difference in the vulnerability assessment process. That is why literacy rate has not been
considered for mapping.
17
18
Map 6. Intersection of vulnerable age group and fire vulnerable plots
No. of vulnerable
Economic sector Percentage
building
From the survey it was also revealed that18 gold and silver shops and 14 buildings providing
various services are found in the highly vulnerable area. Chemical shops sell some flammable
and corrosive textile chemicals. 4 buildings used as chemical markets are situated in the
highly vulnerable area, which may be a threat for the community and also may cause loss of
economy. So these economic activities need more treatment for fire disaster management.
19
20
Map 7. Intersection of important economic activities and fire vulnerable plots
21
22
Map 8. Intersection of secondary hazard risk consideration sites and fire vulnerable plots
CONCLUSION
If we summarize the major findings of this study, the following table can be produced:
Considering the above status of different factors it can be concluded that the community of
ward no. 72 is not so much vulnerable to fire.
But this aggregate result is not an absolute decision. Because some of the findings from this
study are subject to change if more attributes like entrance and exit of houses are considered.
So different out come is also possible from this very method only if more attributes are
considered. Although Community Vulnerability Assessment Tool (CVAT) has been applied in
this small area of Dhaka city, it can be applied to any type of hazard in any location of the
country, both micro and macro levels.
Urban fire incidents have been determined to have a high likelihood of occurrence in our
country especially during the dry season. Although fire hazard characterization information is
available in the Fire Service and Civil Defense (FSCD), no further mentionable vulnerability
or risk assessment has been performed for this hazard. As a result, fire hazard vulnerable area
which is not assessed for this hazard may catch fire and causes lots of human death and
economic loss. This can negatively affect our economy of the country.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We express our heartiest gratefulness and indebtness to Dr. K. M. Maniruzzaman, Professor,
Department of Urban and Regional Planning and the supervisor of this thesis for his valuable
guidance, direction and continuous encouragement at different stages of preparation of this
thesis. We consider it a rare fortune to work under him. We are especially thankful to Dr.
Gulsan Ara Parvin, Assistant Professor and Md. Shakil Bin Kashem, Lecturer, Department of
Urban and Regional Planning for their heartiest help and support.
23
Finally, we would like to convey our gratitude and thanks to the officials of Bangladesh Fire
Brigade and Civil Defense who helped us by providing information.
REFERENCES
ADPC (n. d.) “Safety after a disaster”, URL: http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/disaster/490.html
accessed on 10 October 2007.
ADPC (2004) “Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation News Quarterly Activity Highlights” URL :
http://www.adpc.com.au/ accessed on 10 October
Boyd, Kelly, Hervey, Rex and Stradtner, Jason (n.d.) “Assessing the Vulnerability of the
Mississippi Gulf Coast to Coastal Storms Using an On-Line GIS-Based Coastal Risk Atlas”.
Cutter, S., Mitchell, J. and Scott, M. (2000) “Revealing the Vulnerability of People and
Places: A Case Study of George Town County, South Carolina”, Am.Assn.Geographers, Ann.,
90(4), 713-737.
Florida Dept. of Community Affairs (FDCA) (1997) “The local mitigation strategy: A
Guidebook for Florida cities and counties, Vulnerability assessment, supplement, part 1”
BRM publications, URL: http://www.dca.state.fl.us/BRM accessed on 14 November 2007.
Khan, Iftekhar (1997) “Livability in Old Dhaka: Evolving Residential Patterns in Mahallas”,
Anonda publishers, Dhaka.
Lisa, K. Flax, Russell, W. Jackson and David, N. Stein (2002) “Community Vulnerability
Assessment Tool Methodology” Natural Hazards Review Vol. 3 (ISSN 1527-6988), 162-176.
Mamun, Muntasir (2000). Dhaka Srity Bisrityr Nogori, Bangla Academy, Dhaka.
Meriam, Dwight (2004). The Complete Guide to Zoning, McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-144379-
7.
Masellis, M. Ferrara and M.M. Gunn, S.W.A. (1999) “Fire Disaster and Burn Disaster:
Planning and Management”, Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters - vol. XII - no 2.
24
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Services Centre (NOAA CSC)
(1999) “Community Vulnerability Assessment Tool” New Hanover County, North Carolina”.
National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) (2001) “Designing for tsunamis:
Seven principles for planning and designing for tsunami hazards” Designing for tsunamis,
URL: http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tsunami-hazard/Desihning_for_Tsunamis.pdf accessed on 1
November 2007.
Pollack, Williams (2003) “What is Floor Area Ratio (FAR)?” Urbsworks, Inc.
Saaty, Thomas L. (1979) “How to make a decision: Analytic hierarchy Process”, University
of Pittsburg.
The Daily Star (2007) “Fire Burnt Alive 21People at Khalek sawdagar Colony at Boubazar”,
March 21, 2007.
The New Age (2007) “Fire Incidence at Rise”, February 10, 2007.
The New Nation (2007) “Illegal Electricity Connection Takes Heavy Toll on Human Life”,
July 7, 2007
The New Age (2006) “Fire Breaks out in Chittagong”, March 11, 2006.
The Daily Star (2007) “Garments Factory Burnt to Ashes”, February 25, 2006.
The New Age (2004) “Fire on BSEC Bhaban”, June 10, 2004.
Urban Regional Research (1988) “Planning for Risk: Comprehensive Planning for Tsunami
Hazard Areas, National Science Foundation” D.C.
Victoria, Lorna P. (2005) “Community Based Approaches to Disaster Mitigation” Center for
Disaster Preparedness.
25
26