Citation

Ren AZ, Xie XY. J. Fire Sci. 2004; 22(5): 421-439.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0734904104042440

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Post-earthquake fires cause significant harm to human populations. During the San Francisco Earthquake of April 8, 1906, the loss due to postearthquake fires was 10 times greater than the direct loss due to the earthquake itself. During the Tokyo Earthquake in 1923, 447,000 houses were burned and 56,000 people died from fires following the earthquake. It is therefore important to assemble the limited fire prevention power available within short time periods in order to prevent the spreading of post-earthquake fires. To achieve this, the area where post-earthquake fires can spread should be evaluated and simulated. Based on the statistical data of historical fires following earthquakes in America, Japan, and China, this study predicted places where fire might occur and simulates a dynamic fire spreading process employing Huygens' Principle in the paper. This paper presents a prediction model to determine places where fires might occur. The authors have developed a database that specifies the buildings and roads in an urban area, and have integrated this with a geographic information system. The authors have also developed a computer system based on Arc Info for the simulation of areas where post-earthquake fires can spread. The system was applied in a project in Shan Tou, Guangdong province. The successful application confirmed that the system that can be used in the planning of city development, and to make emergency response plans for cities. This paper gives the algorithms employed in the system, details of the system's architecture, and a practiced example.

Language: en