Urban Fire Hazard in Dhaka City’s Slum Area

This Dissertation submitted to partial fulfillment of the requirement for the program of B.Sc. in the Department
of Geography and Environment, Faculty of Life and Earth science,
Jagannath University, Dhaka-1100, Bangladesh.

Course Name : Dissertation

Course Code : GEOL-4207

Submitted by
Tamim Iqbal
ID: B170602061
Session: 2017-1718
Department of Geography & Environment
Jagannath University, Dhaka-1100

Supervised by
Nahrin Jannat Hossain
Associate Professor
Department of Geography & Environment
Jagannath University, Dhaka-1100

19 December 2023
 Declaration

I hereby declare that this dissertation entitled “Urban Fire Hazard in Dhaka City’s Slum Area” is
written and submitted by me, Tamim Iqbal bearing ID- B170602061 of 2017-201 session, under
the supervision of Nahrin Jannat Hossain (Associate Professor), Department of Geography and
Environment, Jagannath University. It is an original work, and this has not been submitted to any
other University/Institute previously.

………………………………………….

Tamim Iqbal

ID:B170602061

Session: 2017-18

Department of Geography & Environment Jagannath University.

i
 Certificate of Approval

I am pleased to approve the dissertation titled “Urban Fire Hazard in Dhaka City’s Slum Area” is
carried out by Tamim Iqbal bearing ID- B170602061 of 2017-18 session to be presented to the
Department of Geography and Environment under the faculty of Life and Earth Science,
Jagannath University in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of
Science.

He has completed his dissertation under my supervision and guidance. I wish him a very bright
future.

………………………………………

Supervisor

Nahrin Jannat Hossain

Associate Professor

Department of Geography & Environment

Jagannath University.

ii
 Acknowledgement

In the process of conducting my research, it becomes quite clear to me that many people and
institutions deserve thanks and appreciation for their valuable contribution. As the list of
individuals and institutions I wish to thank cannot be accommodated in this limited space, I
therefore would like to thank some specific ones for their dedicated support.
At first, I would like to thank the Almighty “ALLAH”, who gave me the courage to undertake and
complete this research. I am very much grateful to my ever caring and loving Father and Mother,
whose prayers have enabled me to reach this stage. I am very much pleasure to express my
heartiest appreciation, most profound sense of gratitude, and best regard to my honorable teacher,
Nahrin Jannath Hossain(Associate Professor), Department of Geography and Environment,
Jagannath University. for his valuable instruction, supervision, enthusiastic guidance and constant
encouragement throughout the dissertation work and in the preparation and completion of this
report. His valuable instruction, enthusiastic guidance and overall design of the analysis part help
me to complete the dissertation work successfully. My sincere grateful is also for the people that
provided me help in the realization of the fieldwork stage.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all my fellows for their friendly and cordial
cooperation during the questionnaires survey, report writing process and their motivation during
the work.

Tamim Iqbal

19 December 2023

iii
 Abstract

Unfortunately, Dhaka city is growing as an unplanned and a hazardous city. Fire hazards in
this Dhaka city are very common, especially in the slum areas. If for any reason a fire
breaks out in this slum area, it spreads in a short time and there is a lot of loss of life and
property of the people. The aim of this study was to find out the causes and management
of fire hazard in slum areas. Data was collected from 96 respondents via questionnaire and
observation. The present study exhibits that 53% fire occurred accidentally. The causes of
fire hazard were electric short circuit, gas line leakage, kitchen fire, mosquito coils and
cigarettes etc. And about 49% fires occurred due to the faulty of electric short circuit. One
of the reasons behind the fire in slum areas is the intentional setting of fire for eviction.
Performance of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense (BFSCD) was good, 85%
respondents said that they reached timely on the spot. 88% said that they have not any fire
safety equipment. About 40% respondents believe that throwing water can extinguish the
fire immediately. Conduct large scale training or awareness programs to raise awareness
among the people of slum area. It is not possible for the government alone to provide fire
safety training to the people of slum area. So, many non-governmental organizations have
to come forward.

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 Table of Content

Declaration……………………………………………………………………………… i

Certificate of Approval………………………………………………………………… ii

Acknowledgement……………………………………………………………………… iii

Abstract………………………………………………………………………………… iv

List of Table…………………………………………………………………………….. vii

List of Figure……………………………………………………………………………. vii

Chapter one: Introduction

Serial No. Topics Page No.
1.1 Background of study 2
1.2 Problem statement 4
1.3 Objectives of the study 4
1.4 Significance of the Study 4
1.5 Organization of the Dissertation 5

Chapter Two: Review of Literature

2.1 Introduction 7
2.2 Definition 7
2.3 The early history of research on fire hazards 7
2.4 Research on Urban Fire Hazard 9

Chapter Three: Research Methodology

3.1 Introduction 12
3.2 Selection of study area 12
3.3 Data collection 13
3.3.1 Sources of Primary Data 13
3.3.2 Sources of Secondary Data 13
3.4 Data analysis and compilation 14
3.5 Report Writing 14
3.6 Flow chart showing the whole study process 15

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Chapter Four: Social and Demographic Characteristics
4.1 Social and Demographic Characteristics 17
4.1.1 Gender of Respondent 17
4.1.2 Age of the Respondents 17
4.1.3 Educational Status of the Respondents 18
4.1.4 Marital Status of the Respondents 19
4.1.5 Occupation of the Respondents 19
4.1.6 Religion of the Respondents 20
4.1.7 Housing Structure of Respondents 20
4.1.8 Ownership of the Land 21
4.1.9 Durations of Stay of the Respondents 21

Chapter Five: Causes of Urban Fire Hazard

5.1 Introduction 23
5.1.1 Opinion about Fire Occurrence 23
5.2 Causes of urban fire hazard 24
5.3 Exposure and Vulnerabilities to Fire Risk in the Slum Area 26
5.4 The Causes of the Fire Accidents for Eviction 26

Chapter Six: Fire hazard management in Dhaka City’s Slum Area

6.1 Introduction 28
6.2 Responsibility during Fire Accident 32
6.3 Respondents’ participation in any Training on Fire Accidents 34
6.4 Fire hazard management law in Bangladesh 35
6.5 Fire hazard management in Slum Area 35
6.6 Fire hazard management in other developing countries 37

Chapter Seven: Conclusion

7.1 Conclusion 39
7.2 Limitation 39
7.3 Recommendation 40

Reference……………………………………………………………………………………….41

Appendix…………………………………………………………….……………….…………43
List of Table
List of Figure

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1.1 Yearly trend of fire incidents of Bangladesh and Greater Dhaka 3
district
4.1.1 Gender of Respondent 17
4.1.2 Age of the Respondents 17
4.1.3 Educational Status of the Respondents 18
4.1.4 Marital Status of the Respondents 19
4.1.5 Occupation of the Respondents 19
4.1.6 Religion of the Respondents 20
4.1.7 Housing Structure of Respondents 20
4.1.8 Ownership of the Land 21
4.1.9 Durations of Stay of the Respondents 21
5.1.1 Opinion about Fire Hazard 23
5.2.1 Most common sources of fire 25
5.4.1 The Causes of the Fire Accidents for Eviction 26
6.1.1 Performance of BFSCD 28
6.1.2 Emergency exit point 29
6.1.3 Response of available space to enter the fire brigade vehicle 30
6.1.4 Fire Safety equipment 30
6.1.5 Any Emergency Contact Numbers of Fire Service Station 31
6.1.6 Distance from Fire Service Station in your Area 31
6.2.1 Responsibility during Fire incidents 33
6.2.2 Obstacles of Firefighting during a Fire incidents 34
6.3.1&2 Respondents’ participation in any Precautionary Training on Fire 34
Accidents
6.5.1 Management of Fire Hazard 36

vii
1
1.1 Background
The importance of fire has not diminished since the dawn of human civilization, even in the context
of modern existence. In daily life, fire is used in manufacturing, home operations, clothing, and
running machinery on other sides (Islam and Hossain, 2018). If not controlled, fire can have severe
effects on populated areas. When individuals lose awareness of how to manage fire, fire becomes
harmful. Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world because of its
geographic position and socioeconomic makeup (Islam and Hossain, 2018). Numerous natural
disasters, including cyclones, floods, river erosion, and landslides, occur throughout the nation
every year (Ahmed et al., 2013). Fire is necessary for humans, if it is not maintained, it may become
destructive and do significant harm to human society and is then referred to as a "fireHazard"
(Haworth and Twigg, 2017). Urban fire incidence is alarmingly increasing all over Bangladesh
particularly in Dhaka city. Due to rapid unplanned urbanization Dhaka city is seriously facing this
hazard at present (Islam and Adri, 2008).
There are 3394 slums in the whole Dhaka city and its total population is 646075. Of these 3394
slums, 744 are government slums. 1560 are privately owned slums and 1160 are multiple private
ownership slums (Huda et al., 2013). Rahman in 2019 said that the pressure of low-income people
in the slums area continues to increase and the population density increase as more live in small
areas. Their housing conditions are very poor because more live in less space. In 2018, Hossain
realize, if for any reason fire breaks out in these slum areas, it spread very fast because most of the
people live in the houses are made of bamboo, wood, tin etc.
Fire has been used since the very beginning of civilization (Islam and Adri, 2008). In our daily life
we use fire for different purposes. But fire can sometimes become dangerous when people do not
pay their attention about the way of using fire. Though fire is necessary for humans, if it is not
maintained, it may become destructive and do significant harm to human society and is then
referred to as a "fire-Hazard" (Haworth et al., 2017).

2
 Figure: Yearly trend of fire incidents of Bangladesh and Greater Dhaka district
Source: BFSCD, 2014

In 2001, Dhaka was given the status of "megacity" with a population of 10.7 million in an area of
1530 sq.km. and becomes the world’s 8th largest megacity (Ishtiaque, 2014). Ishtiaque also said
that it is a multicultural city that is situated in Bangladesh's heartland. Because of the concentration
of economic activities in this area, several industries have grown. The city is bounded by river
which makes easy to transport industrial materials by using the water way. Besides this all the
facilities are available in Dhaka city like education, medical facilities, job, transportation and many
others. Now-a-days garments sector is creating large number of job opportunities especially for
women. Every year thousands of countryside people migrate to Dhaka city to find a better job and
most of them are started to live in slum area (Roman & Islam, 2019).
Currently, Dhaka serves as both the national capital of Bangladesh, which is home to 149 million
people, and the metropolis of 11.3 million people (BBS, 2001). The national urban population share
of Dhaka city was 25% in 1981, 31% in 1991, 34% in 2001, and 38% in 2015. Its population was estimated
to be 21.1 million in 2018 (GoB, 2022). There are 3394 slums in the whole Dhaka city and its total
population is 646075. Of these 744 are government slums, 1560 are privately owned and 1160 are
multiple private ownership slums. (Huda et al., 2013)
To protect this community from fire accidents, we need to identify the causes of fire accidents and
also understand why these accidents happen. Because the slum peoples are uneducated and
unaware, they don't even know how to protect themselves from fire accidents. All these people
should be trained to know, what to do before a fire accident, what to do during a fire accident and
what to do after a fire accident. In this way the people of the slum area can be protected from fire
accidents and their losses can be minimized. So, my aim was to identify the causes and degree of
management facilities available in Dhaka city’s slum area. The outcome of this research may help
to reduce the future fire hazard in Dhaka city.
1.2 Problem statement
Fire hazard is a common incident all over the world. It mostly happened in the crowded and
industrial area (Roman, 2019). Every year, numerous individuals are killed in household and
industrial fires. Fire hazard becomes most concerned in Dhaka city's slum area because of rapid
unplanned urbanization. The population of Dhaka has grown day by day for the opportunities of
job. Hence the city becomes overpopulated and different kinds of accidents increase here.
Fire accident is the most common problem, not only in the slum areas but also in the residential &
industrial areas. Most of the houses are not well designed to face fire incident and other accident.
They have not enough equipment which helps during fire accident. They do not follow the rules
and regulation of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense (BFCD). So, many people lose their
life in fire accident.

3
 Considering the devastating impact of fire, it is necessary to take steps to ensure the secured life
of slum people. Because not only people lose their life and assets through fire incident but also
country has to face a great damage and huge lose every year. In doing so, we pinpoint the root
reasons and potential solutions for lowering fire incidents and also improve the management
system.
1.3 Objectives:
The main objectives of the study were to find out the problem and its possible solution. To full fill
the main objectives, I outlined the following specific objectives:
 To identify the causes of fire hazard in slum area of Dhaka city; and
 To assess fire hazard management system of Dhaka city’s slum area
1.4 Significance:
Fire has played a crucial part in human society from the beginning, and its significance has not
diminished even in today's contemporary world. Fire hazard is a common incident all over the
world. It mostly happened in the crowded and industrial area (Roman, 2019). Fire hazard can occur
both naturally or anthropogenic way (Rahman and Ansari, 2015).
The aim of this study was finding the facts and causes of the fire incident and identifying the
characteristics of the sites. Fire needs in our daily life to satisfy our daily purposes, it become curse
to us when it destroys life and assets. These results, lot of damage to people and infrastructure. For
all these reasons, I worked on fire hazard. So, this research’s aim was to reduce loss caused by
urban fire and improve the fire hazard management system.

1.5 Organization of the Dissertation The report is arranged as follow:

Chapter one contains the general introduction of the study. It also described significance of the
study, objectives of the study, problem statement.
Chapter two deals with the review of the literature. It describes the causes of urban fire in slum
area of Dhaka city and the performance of fire service in this area.
Chapter three, the research methodology is elaborated. It describes study area selection, data
collection, data compilation, data analysis and interpretation, report writing and flow diagram.
Chapter four describes the social and demographic characteristics. It covers gender, age,
education status, sex, marital status, occupation and housing structure of the respondent.

Chapter five shows the causes of urban fire hazard in Dhaka city’s Slum area.
Chapter six deals with the management system of urban fire hazard. Management policy and some
other steps to minimize the fire accidents in Slum area.

Chapter seven Conclusion and recommendation are provided in the last chapter.
4
5
2.1 Introduction
In this section the focus is on the fire hazard and associated issues. Contemporary literature has
been reviewed to understand the causes of fire hazard. Mitigation of the fire hazard has also been
explored through literature searched.
2.2 Definition
Fire hazard: Both the general public and fire experts use the term "fire hazard." Fire Hazards are
any activities, things, or circumstances that could accelerate an existing fire, make it worse, or start
a new one. (Veidma, 2015).
There are some definitions outlined in the following:
“A fire hazard is anything that can lead to a fire, make an existing fire nastier, or cause an ongoing
fire to spread.” (Masoumi, 2018).

“An accidental fire that could start due to negligence, such as faulty fuel storage, or transportation,
or exposure to combustible gas, is known as a fire hazard.” (Kaur and Sarma, 2018).
Urban fire hazard: According to Roman (2019) Fire in urban areas is very common in dry season.
Urban fires typically occur in cities or towns and can spread quickly to nearby structures.
2.3 The early history of research on fire hazards
Through the analysis and interpretation of evidence, research is being done to better understand
the past, present, and future. The evidence may exist in the form of physical or descriptive recorded
data, pictures, maps and so on (Godin and Lane, 2005). There has only been a small amount of
study done on structural fire safety measures till the 1970s. On the other hand, considerable
research in forestry fire prevention has been conducted, and over the latter 25 years of the 20th
century, significant scientific effort was put into both structural and forest fire prevention. (Haque,
2001).
2.4 Related works from Literature on Urban Fire Hazard

Alam & Baroi, 2004 in article ‘Fire hazard categorization and risk assessment for Dhaka city in
GIS framework’ discussed the distribution of the different types of fire incidence sources, which
can be categorized into five major groups. 37% of the 670 fire incidents that took place in 2001
still had undetermined causes that were being investigated. Electrical problems are the primary
cause of fires in the Dhaka Metropolitan Area (DMA), about 34% of all fire incidents. In high and
less hazardous zones, gas fire incidents were more frequent. Cigarettes, machine heat, kitchens,
candles, and mosquito coils are the main causes of fire incidents in about 15% of cases. The
information used in this study is not first-hand information.

Islam & Adri, 2008 in article ‘Fire Hazard Management of Dhaka City: Addressing Issues Relating
to Institutional Capacity and Public Perception’ They observed that high-rise structures are
currently built around the city, and the majority of them lack proper emergency exits and fire

6
protection measures. As a result, there were 302 residential and 306 commercial fire accidents
compared to only 129 industrial fires reported in Dhaka City in 2007. This indicates that home and
commercial fires are significantly rising in comparison to industrial fires. In addition, there were
19 massive high-rise fire events in the city in 2007. The capability of BFSCDA for firefighting and
fire control of tall structures was further questioned by several devastating high rise fire events in
recent years.

Haque et al. 2007 in an article “Fire Hazard, Its Consequences and Possible Preventions” have
assessed the characteristics of the area where incidents of fire occurred and determined the spatial
variability of fire occurrences as well as the hazard tendency of the area by different land use
categories, such as residential area, mixed residential, commercial, institutional and slum area.
Additionally, they demonstrated the connection between land usage and fire accidents. They also
discovered a solution to this issue by categorizing areas of high fire risk and mapping fire accidents
and fire danger prone areas by using data from previous fire incident patterns.
The study "Assessment of Fire Hazard on the Readymade Garment Industry in Chittagong City,
Bangladesh: A Geospatial Analysis of CEPZ and Baizid Industrial Hub" by Islam & Roman, 2019,
focuses on the fire risk that readymade garments pose in Chittagong. The Fire Risk Index is the
main focus of this investigation. Between 1990 and 2012, there were 14 significant fire accidents
that killed 431 workers.
Islam & Adri, 2008 in article ‘Fire Hazard Management of Dhaka City: Addressing Issues Relating
to Institutional Capacity and Public Perception’ discussed about the threat of fire in Dhaka. The
distribution and reasons of fire occurrences were the main topics of the research. They looked at
Dhaka's susceptibility to fire hazards and management circumstances. The study was limited to the
vulnerability of Dhaka's tall buildings to fire. They only deal with the legal issues surrounding
Dhaka's high-rise buildings' fire safety.

Tishi & Islam, 2019 in article ‘Urban fire occurrences in the Dhaka Metropolitan Area’ discovered
that various factors, including electrical transformers, gas cylinders, chemical storage and
unconcious owners, were responsible for fires. They concluded that there is a general lack of urban
planning controls over the merging of functions, which raises the frequency of fires overall.

Alam & Baroi, 2004 in article ‘Fire hazard categorization and risk assessment for Dhaka city in
GIS framework’ discovered that the dry season (December to March) is the riskiest phase, more
than 60% of fires in Dhaka take place from midday to midnight (Nearly twice fire incident occurs
compared to the wet season).

Islam and Hosaain, 2018 in article “Fire Hazards in Dhaka City: An Exploratory Study on
Mitigation Measures” evaluated Dhaka city's fire risk mitigating strategies. They largely

7
concentrated on the theoretical foundation. They addressed a formula to manage fire risk. T+V=D
Where-
T= Triggering agent
D= Disaster
V= vulnerability

Wing and Long, 2015, investigated at the temporal and spatial climate during significant fire events
in Washington and Oregon. The results showed an increasing trend in fire frequency, extent,
magnitude, and fire season duration. The fire database, which contained over 1000 fire incidents
over a 25-year time period (1984–2008), was compared to climate variables like average monthly
maximum temperature, average monthly minimum temperature, average monthly dew point, and
average monthly precipitation.

Parajuli et al. 2015 in article “Spatial and temporal distribution of forest fires in Nepal.” evaluated
the size, distribution, seasonality, and risk zone of forest fires in several geographical areas of
Nepal. They used the Kernel Density model to locate hotspots of fire in several parts of Nepal.

Hacioglu, 2010 in article “Spatial requirements of fire stations in urban areas: A case study of
Ankara.” had been acted upon light of the fire station shortages in metropolitan areas, which are
significant contributors to fire losses.

Mahmud and Indriasarin, 2009 in research paper “Theoretical and Empirical Research in Urban
Management, Special Number 1S.” presents and discuss a newly designed methodology to
optimize overall service area using facilities like fire stations, ambulances, and other service
providers. The Maximum Service Area Problem (MSAP) was addressed by the Greedy Adding
(ADD) and Greedy Adding with Substitution (GAS). The study's goal was to create a facility
location model that took road facility factors into in the areas with the highest demand. By
analyzing the road network, GIS was able to calculate the journey time zone.

Liu et al. 2006 in article “Optimal siting of fire stations using GIS and ANT algorithm.” discusses
how effectively Singapore's fire stations cover the hazardous material transportation routes
(HAZMATs). The study provided a method for strategically placing new fire stations that took
numerous goals into consideration and used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and an Ant
algorithm (ANT).

Jahan et al. 2012 in article “Developing fire risk index for chemical warehouse of old Dhaka.”
where fire risk index was determined for chemical stores and the shops and warehouses were then
categorized in accordance with the index.

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9
3.1 Introduction
This section of the chapter describes the methods used for collecting data and information from
different sources to execute the research work. In this research, both primary and secondary data
sources have been used. In this section we also describe the study area selection, data compilation,
data processing, analysis and interpretation and finally showing the flowchart for whole study
process.
3.2 Selection of Study Area:

Source: The Bangladesh Network, 2020

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and there are many small and big slums around it. With the
increasing population of Dhaka, many poor people started to live in these slums. As a result, the
slums are becoming more densely populated and the people living in them are unaware, fire
accidents occur in the slums at different times due to various reasons. It causes huge loss of
property and human life. Hence, I choose slum area (DNCC- Korail bosti, Sattola bosti, DSCC-
Kutubkhali bosti, Basherpul bosti) of Dhaka city for urban fire hazard. Considering the above
scenario, I chose this area and discussed in detail the causes and management system of fire
accidents in this area.

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Sample Size Calculation: According to Yamane (1967:886);

𝒏=𝑵/(𝟏+𝑵𝒆𝟐)
whereas: n= no. of samples, N=total
population, e=margin of
error

Calculations of Sample size: Here, N=285, e=10%

So, n=285/(1+285*(0.1)^2)
=96
3.3 Data collection
The sources of data collection encompass primary and secondary sources. Different official
documents, books, newspaper and journals had been used as the sources of the data collection
3.3.1 Sources of Primary Data
Questionnaire survey was conducted to collect primary data. Primary data represents the
information which has been collected from the field observation. In order to collect primary
information from the field, the following techniques have been used:
▪ Field Observations
▪ Informal interviews
▪ Field Photographs
a) Field Observation
A methodical technique to data collection is through field observation. This method includes
methodically picking out, observing, listening to, and recording attributes, objects, or happenings.
In this study, field observation was conducted in (DNCC- Korail bosti, Sattola bosti, DSCC-
Kutubkhali bosti, Basherpul bosti) slum area of Dhaka. To realize the events of fire hazard in the
study area and to observe the damage, loss and preparedness in different sectors due to fire
accidents.

b) Informally Interviewed
Conversation between two people that serves as an interview (the interviewer and interviewee). A
number of 96 interviews and conversations were conducted among 285 residents of the slums to

11
increase their knowledge and understanding of various study aspects. This casual interview served
as the primary source for the study's qualitative analysis.
c) Field photographs
In this dissertation, relevant portions have used photographs that were gathered from the study
region and used in the appropriate places.
3.3.2 Sources of Secondary Data
Secondary data is information gathered from sources that has previously been published in any
format. The literature review based on secondary data are mostly from books, the relevant
publications, newspaper, RAJUK, Bangladesh fire service and civil defense authority's (BFSCDA)
official's records. To have a comprehensive understanding of fire hazard incidents, their causes,
and fire hazard management in Dhaka city, necessary publications and pertinent laws were
examined.
3.4 Data analysis and compilation
Data are collected from primary and secondary sources which have been assembled and presented
in tabular from using the computer software named SPSS, MS Excel and MS Word and analyzed
according to objectives of the study. Most attention has given in this phase because any wrong
observation might cause wrong result. The subsequent analyzed data need to be interpreted
correctly. So that the research work is perfect.
3.5 Report Writing
Finally, the report has been prepared compiling all the information collected and the results of the
analysis with some recommendations for improving the fire-fighting system.

3.6 Flow chart showing the whole study process

The entire research methodology is outlined in the diagram below:

12
 Introduction

Study area selection

Data collection

Primary Data Secondary Data

1. Questionnaire’s 1. Relevant
survey publications
2. Field 2. Newspaper
observation 3. Fire service
3. Field station
photographs 4. BFSCDA

Data compilation

Data analysis

Data interpretation

Report writing

13
14
4.1 Social and Demographic Characteristics
Social and demographic characteristics include gender, age, educational status, marital status,
occupation etc.

4.1.1 Gender of Respondents

Here, we see the different gender of the respondent of the study area in the table below

Fig 4.1.1: Gender of the Respondent

The above graph shows that gender of the respondent of the study area. The highest frequency of
the gender was made in ‘male’ group and the percentage was 62.5%. The lowest frequency was
made in ‘female’ group and the percentage was 37.5%.

4.1.2 Age of the Respondents

Here, we see the different age of the respondents of the study area in the graph below

Source: Field Survey-2023

Fig 4.1.2: Age of Respondents

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The bar chart shows that age of the respondents of the study area. The highest frequency of the age
of the respondents were made in (41-50) age group and the percentage were 27.08% in this made.
The second highest frequency of the age was made in (31-40) age group and the percentage were
25% in this made. The third highest frequency of the age was made in (21-30) age group and the
percentage were 23.96% in this made, and then (51-60) age group and the percentage were
20.83%. The lowest frequency was 60+ range and the percentage are only 3.13%.

4.1.3 Educational Status of the Respondents

Here, we see the different educational status of the respondents of the study area in the graph below

Source: Field Survey-2023

Fig 4.1.3: Educational Status of the Respondents

The figure indicates that educational status of the respondents of the study area. The highest
frequency of the educational status was made in ‘no schooling’ and the percentage was 64.58% in
this made. The second highest frequency group was ‘one to five’ and the percentage was 28.13%.
The third highest frequency group was ‘six to eight’ and the percentage was 6.25%. And the lowest
frequency was in ‘nine to ten’ and the percentage is 1.04%.

4.1.4 Marital Status of the Respondents

Here, we see the different marital status of the respondents of the study area in the table below

16
 Source: Field Survey-2023

Table 4.1.4: Marital Status of the

Respondents

The graph shows that marital status of the respondent of the study area. The highest frequency of
the marital status was made in ‘married’ group and the percentage was 84.38% in this made. The
other frequency of the marital status was made in ‘unmarried’ group and the percentage was
15.62%.

4.1.5 Occupation

Here, we see the different occupation of the respondents of the study area in the table below

Source: Field Survey-2023

Fig 4.1.5: Distribution by Occupation

The above figure shows that occupation of the study area. The highest frequency of the occupation
was made in “shopkeeper” and the percentage was 19.79% in this made. The second highest
frequency group was “rickshaw puller” and the percentage was 18.75%. The next highest
frequency group was house maid, vegetable seller, day laborer, van driver and construction worker
and the percentage were 15.63%, 13.54%, 11.46%, 8.33% and 7.29. The lowest frequency was
made in “night guard” and the percentage was 5.21%.

17
4.1.6 Religion of the Respondents
Here, we see the different religion of the respondents of the study area in the table below

Source: Field Survey-2023

Fig 4.1.6: Religion of the Respondents

The above pie chart shows that different religion of the respondent of the study area. The highest
number of the respondents were “Muslim” and the percentage was 84.38% in this made. The other
respondents of the study area were “Hindu” and the percentage was 15.62%.
4.1.7 Housing Structure of Respondents
Here, we see the different housing structure of the respondents of the study area in the graph Below

80
Housing Structure
60

40

20

0
Kaccha ( tin, Pucca (bricks, Semi Pucca (bricks,
bamboo, timber) concrete, tin) tin, bamboo)
Percentage

Source: Field Survey-2023

Fig 4.1.7: Housing Structure of Respondents

The above figure identifies that housing structure of the respondents of the study area. The highest
frequency of the housing structure was made in “kaccha‟ and the percentage was 66.67% in this
made. The second highest frequency was made in “semi-pucca‟ and the percentage was 26.04%.
And the lowest frequency was made in “pucca‟ and the percentage was 7.29%.
4.1.8 Ownership of the Land
Here, we see the different ownership of the land of the respondents of the study area in the table
below

18
 (Source: Field Survey-2023)

Fig 4.1.8: Ownership of

the Land

The above figure shows that owner ship of the land of the study area. The highest frequency of the
owner ship of the land was made in “rent” and the percentage was 77.08%. The second highest
frequency of the group was “tenure‟ and the percentage was 17.71%. And the lowest frequency of
the group was „own land‟ and the percentage was 4.17%. The other 1.04% ownership is others.
4.1.9 Durations of Stay of the Respondents
Here, we see the different duration of stay of the respondents of the slum area in the graph below

(Source: Field Survey-2023)

Fig 4.1.9: Durations of Stay of the Respondents

Figure 4.1.9 clarifies that duration of stay of the study area. The highest frequency of the duration
of stay was made in (4-6) year and the percentage were 35.42%. The second highest frequency
group was (1-3) year and the percentage were 23.96%. The next highest frequency group was
(1012) year, below 1 year, (7-9) year and the percentage were 21.88%, 16.67% and 2.08%. This
clearly indicates that most of the people here have seen more than one fire accident.

19
20
5.1 Introduction
Most of the people in the slum area think that the fire occurred accidentally. Again, many people
think that someone intentionally set fire for eviction. People’s idea about fire accidents are
highlighted through the table below:

5.1.1: Opinion about Fire Occurrence

Here, we see the different opinion of fire occurrence from the respondents of the slum area in the
table below

Source: Field Survey-2023

Fig: 5.1.1: Opinion about Fire Occurrence

The Bar Diagram discuss about the opinion of Fire Hazard of the respondent of the slum area.
The highest frequency of the Opinion of Fire Hazard was occured “accidently‟ and the
percentage was
53.13%. The second highest frequency of the Opinion of Fire Hazard was occured by
“purposefully‟ and the percentage was 40.63%. The lowest frequency was made by “don’t know‟
and the percentage was only 6.25%. They don’t even know how the Fire Occurred in this slum
area. This indicates that most of fire accidents occurred accidently in slum area and number
respondents said someone or group intentionally occurred the fire incident for eviction of the land
of this slum.
5.2 Causes of urban fire hazard
Fire is occurred mainly due to unconsciousness of the people. There are various causes of fire
hazards in the cities of developing countries. Urban fire hazard may occur in two ways: natural
and man-made (Islam and Hossain, 2018). Apart from human passing and damage, the harm of

21
property in Dhaka city was assessed to be more than Tk. 6 crore on a normal because of flame
mischances (Sarkar, 2014). However, the common reason of urban fire hazards is given bellow:

Electric short circuit

Use of poor, cheap electronic and electrical equipment in residence, hospital, factories and other
places(slum) is one of the reasons behind fire accident. According to the BFSCDA records, electric
short circuit is the main cause of fire accidents in Dhaka City, electric short circuit results mainly
from the illegal loose connections, substandard wiring and overloading of the system (Islam and
Adri, 2008).
We know that most of the fires in slum areas are caused by electric short circuits. Because most of
the houses in the slum area are provided with electrical connection in some way and the quality of
the electrical wires used is not good. And there are few cases where electrical connection was
provided from one house to another. Therefore, due to excess pressure, events like short circuits
occur and fire starts.
Gas line leakage: Gas line leakage is one of the most common causes of fire accidents in slum
areas, because gas is not supplied through the good quality pipes in slum areas, which leads to fire
accidents due to leakage. One of the reasons for fire is the unconscious use of gas by the slum
peoples.
Kitchen Fires: The fire was also seen from kitchen in slum areas. People on the slums often do
not turn off the stove or gas line at the end of the cooking due to being unaware, which leads to
fire accidents.
Mosquito coils: The fire was also seen from the mosquito coils in the slum areas. Mosquito coils
are lit wherever they are kept in the house and these coils come in contact with cloth or flammable
material and start a fire.
Cigarettes: The fire was also seen from the cigarettes in the slum areas. People smoke cigarettes
and through them out without extinguishing the fire and it comes in contact with any combustible
material and causes fire. They don’t even think that they are threatening their lives as well as the
lives of others.
A report of the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense (BFSCD) has identified careless
disposal of cigarette as the third major causes of fire incidents in Bangladesh as it causes around
16.44% of fire incidents took place in 2020, triggering concern among experts (Rahman, 2020).
In 2019 from the report of Bangladesh Protidin- An incident took place in the warehouse of Bogra
Zilla School burnt down about three and a half thousand textbooks and notebooks of eighth and
ninth classes. There was no electrical line in the warehouse. The fire service is investigating, and
they found out that there was nothing behind the fire in the warehouse, the last of a cigarette but
was burnt in the warehouse. Someone threw a cigarette inside through the open window.
According to the people of the slum area, the main causes of the fire accidents are given in the
graph below:

22
 Source: Field Survey-2023

Figure 5.2.1: Most common sources of fire

Figure 5.2.1 shows that the most common sources and main causes of fire hazard of the slum area.
The highest frequency of the sources of fire hazard is “Electric short circuit” and the percentage
was 49%. The second highest frequency of the source of fire is “Gas line leakage” and the
percentage is 25%. The lowest frequency is cigarette & mosquito coil and the percentage are 8.33%
& 7.29%. The other source of fire hazard is “Kitchen Fire” which also noticeable at a percentage
of 10.42%. As usual Kitchen fires occurred due to the unconsciousness of the housewife and also
Gas line leakage responsible for kitchen fire.

5.3 Exposure and Vulnerabilities to Fire Risk in the Slum Area

Factors Frequency (%)
Poverty 7
Housing 19
High population density 60
Lack of access roads 14
Total 100
Source: Field Survey-2023

Table 5.3: Predisposing Factors

The above table discuss the predisposing factors of the study area. The highest frequency of the
predisposing factors distribution was made in “high population density‟ and the percentage was
about 60%. The second highest frequency was made in “housing‟ and the percentage was 19%.
The third highest frequency was made in “lack access road‟ and the percentage was 14%. And the
lowest frequency was made in “poverty‟ and the percentage was 12.5%. All those are the reason
behind the vulnerable conditions of slum area to Fire Risk.

23
5.4 The Causes of the Fire Accidents for Eviction
Evictions are often seen in slums but intentionally firing for evicts everywhere else. Slums are
basically built on government land or organizations land or individual land. Attempts are made at
different times for eviction. Many times, intentional fires are set to remove the peoples from the
space. A number of respondents said about the intentional fire setting.

Source: Field Survey-2023

Figure 5.4.1: Intentionally Setting Fire for Eviction

The above graph shows that frequency of intentionally fire for eviction of the study area. Though
the majority of the respondents said “NO” at a percentage of 89.58% but 10.42% respondents
believe most of the fire was setting intentionally. They believe the reason behind it was eviction.

24
25
6.1 Introduction
The process of controlling fires to protect people and property includes planning, preventing, and
combating flames. (Ryan and Blanchard, 2003).

The 3P strategy is crucial for managing fires. These are: (a) identifying the precise spot where a
fire event has occurred; (b) preventing fires; and (c) providing fire protection (Mondal, 2019). Due
to more densely planned settlements, a lack of safety structures, population growth, and poverty,
urban fires are a typical occurrence in all cities, but notably in emerging counties. According to
studies, there are 79,000–136,000 fire-related deaths worldwide each year, along with roughly
45,000 injuries (Abdeen and Tennakoon, 2021). The press these days is increasingly worried about
fire safety in developing nations.

Table 6.1.1: Performance of BFSCD

Performance Percentage (%)

Reached Timely 84.38

Reached after extinguishing the fire 12.49

Did not reach the site of fire on time 3.13

Total 100
Source: Field Survey
-

Source: Field Survey-22023

Figure 6.1.1: Performance of BFSCD

The above table and figure show that most of the time fire service reaches the spot-on time and
only 3.13% people said that they does not reach on time. About 12.49% respondents said
sometimes they reached the spot after extinguishing the fire.

26
Table 6.1.2: Emergency exit points

Response Percentage (%)

They have emergency exit points 9.38

They have no emergency exit point 90.63

Total 100

Source: Field Survey-2023

Figure 6.1.2: Emergency exit point

The above figure indicates that most of the people of the slum area said they have no emergency
exit point if fire hazard occurs but only a few numbers of people about 9.38% said they have
emergency exit point, but they think the narrow roads are the emergency exit point which was not
actually an emergency exit point. That’s why fire incidents increase the risk of life and property
loss.

Table 6.1.3: Response of available space to enter the fire brigade vehicle

Response Percentage

Available space for enter fire brigade vehicle 12.5

NO available space for enter fire brigade vehicle 87.5

Total 100

Source: Field Survey-2023

27
 Source: Field Survey-2023
Figure 6.1.3: Response of available space to enter the fire brigade vehicle

The above table and graph indicate that most of the respondents of the slum area said they have no
available space to enter fire brigade vehicle to fight against fire and reduce the loss of live and
property. Only 12.5% respondents believe that the fire brigade vehicle can enter with the narrow
road.

Table 6.1.4: Fire Safety equipment

Response Percentage

Fire safety equipment 12.5

No Fire safety equipment 87.5

Total 100

Source: Field Survey-2022

The above graph shows that most of the respondents said they have no fire safety equipment to
prevent or dismiss the fire immediately and the percentage is 87.5%, and only 12.5% people said
they have fie safety equipment (fire extinguisher fire blanket) in the slum area.

28
6.1.5: Respondents have any Emergency Contact Numbers of Fire Service Station

Source: Field Survey-2023

Figure 6.1.5: Any Emergency Contact Numbers of Fire Service Station

The figure shows that the respondents have Emergency Contact Numbers of Fire Service Station
or not. The highest frequency was made in “Yes‟ and the percentage was 61.46%. The rest of the
respondents said “No‟ they have not any emergency contact number of Fire Service Station and
the percentage was 39.54%. This is clearly indicating that most of the people have an emergency
contact number of fire service station.

6.1.6: Distance from Fire Service Station in your Area

Source: Field Survey-2023

Figure 6.1.6: Distance from Fire Service Station in your Area

The 6.1.6 pie chart shows that distance of fire service station from the slum area. The highest
frequency was made in (0-3) km and the percentage were 89.58%. The second highest frequency
of the group was (4-6) km and the percentage were 10.42%. Most of the respondents said the fire
fighters came within a short time, about 5-6 minutes they needed to come to the spot.
6.2. Responsibility during Fire Accident
Every human being has some responsibility during fire accident. The amount of damage can be
reduced if the responsibilities are fulfilled. And the fire is somewhat reduced from spreading. The
responsibilities are highlighted below:

29
Throwing Water: The most important thing to do during a fire accident is to throw more and more
water. By the time rescuers arrive at the scene, if people throw buckets of water, the fire will be
less likely to spread. But it is not advisable to throw water on all types of fires such as electric short
circuit fires.

Inform Fire Service: Call the nearest fire service station as soon as possible to avoid standing
during a fire accident. Rescuers will rush to the scene and begin work to bring the fire under
control.

Throwing Sand: Fire can often be brought under control by throwing sand during fire accident.
However, it is not advisable to throw sand in all types of fires. If there is a fire in an oily substance,
sand has to be thrown to control the fire. Throwing water into the fire of an oily substance can be
dangerous.

Go Outside: Move to safe places as soon as possible during a fire accident before the fire spreads
around. If possible, it is best to take position in the open space.

Electricity should be off: During a fire accident you have to disconnect the electrical connection
from the house and come out of the house. So that there is no electrical short circuit next time.

Help other People: Help other people get out of the house as much as possible by keeping
themselves at a safe distance during a fire accident, particularly helping the young children and the
elderly people.

Help Family Members: Emergency evacuation by assisting family members during a fire accident
and children, the elderly people and the sick people must be taken to safety first.

Using Fire Extinguisher: If there is a fire extinguisher in the house, then it should be used
properly. The responsibilities of the slum dwellers during the fire accidents are given in the table
below:

30
6.2.1: Responsibility during Fire incidents

Source: Field Survey-2023

Figure 6.2.1: Responsibility during Fire incidents

The above chart indicates that responsibility of respondents during fire accidents of the study area.
The highest frequency was made in “throwing water‟ and the percentage was 20.83%, they think
throwing water can reduce the expansion of fire. The second highest frequency was made in “go
outside‟ and the percentage was 16.67%, they think that going outside can save their lives. The
next highest frequency was made in inform fire service, electricity should be off, gas line should
be off, help other people, help family members and the percentage was 15.63%, 12.50%, 12.50%,
9.38%, 8.33%, and 4.17%.

6.2.2 Obstacles of Firefighting during a Fire incidents

Here, the information of obstacles of Firefighting during a Fire incidents of slum area is presented
in the graph below:

(Source: Field Survey2023)

Figure 6.2.2 Obstacles of Firefighting during a Fire incidents

31
The above chart shows that obstacles of Firefighting during a Fire incidents of slum area. Narrow
roads (39.58%) are the main obstacle for the firefighters because they can’t enter the spot with
their vehicle which contains water and lots of emergency equipment which are needed during fire
incident. Lack of water (32.29%) in slum area also responsible for the expansion of fire because
lack of water is another major barrier for the firefighters during a fire incident. Lack of sand, lack
of knowledge and overcrowding are also obstacles for the firefighters. Overcrowding slowed down
the work of firefighters. People’s unconsciousness is another obstacle to their work because the
people not being able to tell exactly how the fire started.

6.3 Respondents participation in any Precautionary Training on Fire Accidents

Here, the information of participation in any precautionary training on fire accidents of the people
of slum area is presented in the graph below:

Source: Field Survey-2023

Figure 6.3.1 Previous participation

Figure 6.3.2 Future participation

The above 6.3.1 figure shows that respondents participated in any precautionary training on fire
accidents of the slum area. The highest frequency was made in “No” and the percentage was
87.50%. Only 12.50% respondents said “yes” because they participated in precautionary training
program, they taught from training what should do when fire accidents occur.

Figure 6.3.2 shows that the respondents will participate if future precautionary training arrange on
fire accidents of the slum area. The highest frequency was made in “yes” and the percentage was
86.46%. A few respondents are unwilling to participate in future training program and the
percentage was 13.54%. This is clearly indicating that most of the people are interested to
participate if future precautionary training on fire accidents will arrange.

32
6.4 Fire hazard management law in Bangladesh
There are many reasons for fire accidents in Bangladesh. Most of the fire accidents occur due
public unawareness as well as negligence of government and other authority. They are not giving
enough attention to reduce this problem. The city is grown without any proper plan. So,
improvement is necessary for both fire prevention, firefighting and for city.

• Fire protection and prevention law 2003

Several rules are mentioned in this act. The Fire Protection Act 2003 mentioned the provisions for
all the buildings, including high-rises and commercial establishments, to have sufficient
firefighting equipment’s and confirm the public security (Islam and Adri, 2008). The rules for
licensing warehouse are also mentioned in this law, especially for chemical warehouse. No
chemical warehouse can be given anywhere without a license.
• The building construction law 1996

The Building Construction Law 1996 also provides different rules for the fire safety at the
individual building. License must be obtained for the construction of multistorey buildings.
Buildings must have clear gas and electrical lines. Necessary measures should be taken to deal
with fire accident and there should be emergency exit road system also. A certain distance must be
maintained from one building to another.
6.5 Following aspects should be considered for fire hazard management in
Slum Area
• Enforcement of Building Code
The building Code Act was enacted in 1993 in Bangladesh. It controls planning administration and
enforcement, general building controls and regulations, requirements for different uses, fire
protection, building materials, design and services (Salma and Shafi, 2010). It basically measures
the height and density of the buildings. Most of the buildings in Dhaka have been built without
following these rules and also Slum houses deny these rules. So, the buildings and slum houses do
not have adequate fire safety and that is why fire accident often happen in Slum Area of Dhaka
City. If these rules are followed properly then fire accident can be largely reduced.

• Record keeping and monitoring:

The investigation of fires and other adverse events is a critical part of a safety management system
(Kaiser, 1980). This section describes the purpose and process of investigating fires. It also covers
the legal and organizational requirements for recording and reporting such events.

• Development of Land use System

Land use and land cover is a dynamic and changes according to environmental and socioeconomic
consequences (Rai and Khanal, 2017). It also varies with space and time and related to the
interaction between human activities and physical conditions in an area. Dhaka is a populous city
33
due to its facilities. Land use has changed as a result of population growth. So, the amount of living
land is decreasing day by day as compared to the needs of the people. Water filling restrictions and
the protection of sufficient open space as safe zones should be part of land policy.
• Risk assessment
Fire risk map of various slums in Dhaka City should be prepared to reduce fire accident. Because
fire risk map can identify the causes of accidents in specific areas and the authority can act
accordingly, which will help to reduce fire accident in a great extent. So the development of fire
risk management is very necessary.

Figure 6.5.1: Management of Fire Hazard

(Source: Modified from Tishi)
6.6 Fire hazard management in other developing countries
A large-scale fire accident is not common in Sri Lanka, but it bears witness to inadequate fire safety
precaution (Abdeen et al. 2021). Major Construction of Sri Lanka had the firefighting capacity but
lack of some steps it goes under a high risk (Christopher et al., 2019). But now they are using
Building Information Modeling (BMI) to reduce the risk of fire hazard.

34
Kolkata is well known city in India for its industrialization, location and culture. It is characterized
by a large number of migrants perhaps due to communal harmony and political stability (Basu et
al., 2000). Due to huge migration the land use pattern changing and water bodies is reducing day
by day. The total industrial area of the KMC is 3.85% which has been concentrated into fifteen
boroughs, surrounded in all sides except the north and northwest. Total numbers of industrial fires
in the KMC during 2006- 2018 were 46, 26.28% of the total (Mondal et al., 2019). To reduce fire
accident, they are paying attention to create awareness among the people. They are arranging fire
prevention camping and develop their training program. They try to develop their rout connection
by rout mapping.

Jakarta and Surabaya are the large urban area in Indonesia. It is found that fire incident occurs in
residential buildings and most of the fire incident occur for electrical faults (Sufianto and Green,
2011). The authority only focused on four points to manage fire accidents. These are, Mitigation,
Preparedness, recovery and Response.

35
7.1 Conclusion
Dhaka city is growing unfortunately as an unplanned and a hazardous city. And the fire
accidents in this Dhaka city are very common, especially in the slum areas of Dhaka city.
If for any reason a fire breaks out in this slum area, it spreads in a short time and there is a
lot of loss of life and property of the people. Conversations with slum peoples revealed that
they did not have a minimum knowledge of fire safety because of a lack of education, weak
economic structure and lack of public awareness. This study exhibits that 53% fire occurred
accidentally. The causes of fire hazard were electric short circuit, gas line leakage, kitchen
fire, mosquito coils and cigarettes etc. And about 49% fires occurred due to the faulty of
electric short circuit. One of the reasons behind the fire in slum areas is the intentional
setting of fire for eviction. Performance of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense
(BFSCD) was good, 85% respondents said that they reached timely on the spot. 88% said
that they have not any fire safety equipment. About 40% respondents believe that throwing
water can extinguish the fire immediately.

Moreover, they have to be trained with the basic firefighting activity so that they can take
instant initiatives in time of incidents. Besides, fire zoning, road design and building
construction must be done according to standard law. Conduct large scale training or
awareness programs to raise awareness among the people of slum area. In order to protect
Dhaka city and its surrounding slums save from fire accidents, fire safety management must
be taken seriously.It is not possible for the government alone to provide fire safety training
to the people of slum area. So, many non-governmental organizations have to come
forward. We all need to come forward together and save this slum community from fire
accidents.

36
7.2 Limitations
The research couldn’t complete in all 3394 slums of Dhaka city due to lack of funds and time.

Conducting questionnaire survey in the slum was challenges because the roads were too narrow,
and the respondents were unwilling to talk with me about anything.

Getting the correct answers from the respondents was also a challenge.

7.3 RECOMMENDATION
Based upon the findings of the research, some recommendations have been given to ensure better
safety:

 Build houses according to proper plan and building code to ensure adequate distance from
one building to another.

 Building houses with weak material such as wood, bamboo, tin etc. should be avoided.

 To ensure gas and electrical connections more secure.

 Conduct large scale training or awareness programs to raise awareness among the people
of slum area through government and non-government organizations.

 Flammable material should not be stored in the surroundings of the kitchen.

 Make sure there are fire extinguishers in each home and building in slum areas.

 At the end of cooking, make sure that the gas or stove is fully turned off and then leave the
kitchen.

 To adequate widening of roads in slum areas.

 To create sufficient water sources in the vicinity of slum areas.

 To ensure Proper land use zoning.
 Ensuring sufficient manpower

 Public awareness generation

37
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39
APPENDIX-1: Questionnaire
Urban Fire Hazard in Dhaka city’s slum area
Dept. of Geography and Environment
Jagannath University, Dhaka

1.Respondent’s
Name: …………………………………………………………. Age…………
Name of the area: ……………………………. Religion……………. Date………

Sex Education Marital Status Occupation

Female No Schooling Unmarried

Male One to Five Married

Six to Eight Widow/ widower

Nine to Ten Divorced

SSC/Dakhil
HSC/Alim

2. House Structure:
House structure (√) Building materials (√)

1.Kaccha Tin, Bamboo,

Timber
2.Pucca Bricks, concrete,
Tin
3.Semi Pucca Bricks, Tin,
Bamboo
4.Others

3. Ownership of the land…

a) Own land b) Tenure c) Rent d) Others

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4. How many years have you lived in this place?

a) Below 1 year b. (1-3) years c. (4-6) years d. (7-9) years e. (10-12) years

Causes of fire hazard

1. Fire Hazard mostly Occurred
a) Accidently b) purposefully c) Domestic violence d) Don’t know

2. Most common source of fire

a) Electric short-circuit b) Mosquito coil c) Cigarette

d) Kitchen fire e) Gas line leakage f) Unawareness

3. What are the factors that increase exposure and vulnerability to fire risk in this area?
a) Poverty b) Housing c) High population density d) Lack of access roads
4. Do you think is the reason for someone intentionally setting fire in a slum area for eviction? a)

Yes b) No

Management of fire hazard

1.Performance of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense (BFSCD)

a) Reached timely
b) Reached after extinguishing the fire
c) Did not reach the site of fire
2. Do you have Emergency exit point in your area?
a) Yes b) No
3. Is there have available space to enter the fire brigade vehicle in your area? a) Yes b) No
4. Do you have any emergency contact numbers for fire service station? a) Yes b) No
5. Do you have any fire safety equipment?
a) Yes b) No
6. How far is the fire service station from your area?
a. (0-3) km b. (4-6) km c. (6-9) km d. more than 9

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7. Which of the following do you think is your responsibility during a fire accident?
Responsibility (√) Responsibility (√)
Throwing water Gas line should be off
Inform fire service Help other people
Throwing sand Help family member’s
Go outside Using fire extinguisher
Electricity should be off

8. What are the obstacles of firefighting?

a) No access b) Narrow access road c) Lack water
d) Lack of sand e) Lack of knowledge f) Obstruction by crowd

9. Steps after fire accidents

a) Take preparation b) Collect damage information c) Talk to your insurance agent
d) Clean undamaged items and move to safety e) others

10. Have you participated in any precautionary training on fire accidents? a) Yes b) No

11. Would you participate if future precautionary training on fire accidents will arrange?
a) Yes b) No

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