Background :According to the Census of India there were 23, million-plus cities in the country.By estimates this number will double by 2001. These cities, where the economies are concentrated, the teeming sea of millions are getting crammed up in the overly congested areas.
Such a concentration of humans in numbers as well as activities make the common man vulnerable to various kinds of risks arising from any kind of emergency situation out of the complicated urban life.
Emergency situations require a quick and focussed response as human life and property may be involved.
It is recognised now that the greater proportion of poor quality housing, inadequate planning, monitoring and control in any country in metropolitan cities, which become
overpopulated, hence are more prone to fire and other urban disasters. One of the essentials, more especially in congested cities is the need for priority to be given to proper and adequate fire protection measures.
In the past the absence of proper regulation, legislation and planning particularly in the matter of fire protection and related activities resulted in increasing fire losses.
Due to the rapid increase in population, industrialisation, rapid rise in new colonies, construction of high rise buildings etc, the fire risk in the cities has been tremendously increased.
The fire service in the cities not only protect its population from fire risks but also rescue human being from house collapse, drowning, road accidents and other emergencies. Animals that are trapped in nallahs, debris, wells, floods and rivers etc. are also rescued by this service. It is therefore one of the very important public service required to be proceeded on a realistic bases in all the cities, but it is hard fact that adequate attention has not been paid regarding its importance.
Fire risks in urban areas have undoubtedly increased over the years and the rising cost of fire losses would seem to indicate that they are increasing at a greater rate than the measures devised to control them. With the cities growing in size and complexity day by day they need to be managed more and more efficiently. Aspects like planning and management of fire services should form a part of Urban Management as a whole.
The future holds many new things for urban centres in India as well as for the whole wolrd. The fast pace of modernisation will bring very different styles of living. With the emergence of e-commerce and internet technology the very dimensions of distance, communication and trade and also crime will change and bring in new array of problems as well. The threat of urban terrorism looms large especially in countries like India. To combat such a dangerous and widespread challenge, technology can become a powerful ally in the fight against crime and can help combat any kind of emergency situation. There fore an integrated system will be required sooner or later.
Geographic Information Systems can become strong tools in handling large databases and analysing where a large number of variables are involved and help drastically in spatial decision making.
Objectives of the study- To highlight the need for the study by establishing the magnitude of life, property and effort involved in fire safety and mitigation.
- To determine the risk zones based on the land use, building and activity in tune with the National Building Code guidelines.
- To find out the efficiency and the effectiveness of the fire services in the present condition keeping in view the cause and effect of the fires
- To come up with an Emergency Response Management System for the city using GIS as a decision making tool.