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Quantitative wildfire risk assessments increasingly are used to prioritize areas for investments in wildfire risk mitigation actions. However, current assessments of wildfire risk derived from fire models built primarily on biophysical data do not account for socioeconomic contexts that influence community vulnerability to wildfire. Research indicates that despite accounting for only a small proportion of high wildfire hazard areas, communities with fewer socioeconomic resources to devote to wildfire prevention and response may experience outsized exposure and impacts. We examined the distribution of simulated wildfire risk versus observed wildfire experience relative to social vulnerability across communities in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Using three decades of wildfire occurrence data, we investigated whether socially vulnerable communities were more likely to experience ignitions, fires that escaped initial attack (hereafter ‘escaped fires’) (>121 hectares), and large fires (>404 hectares), reasoning that each may reveal key insights into the effectiveness of current wildfire risk mitigation and response efforts. We found that communities located in areas with higher wildfire risk or hazard tended to have lower social vulnerability, but that across landscapes east of the Cascade Range, communities with higher social vulnerability were more likely to be exposed to ignitions, escaped fires, and large fires. Our results draw into question whether the current reliance on biophysical data in wildfire risk assessments, absent consideration of community socioeconomic conditions, may perpetuate social inequities by leading to over-investment in well-resourced communities and under-investment in socially vulnerable communities subject to disproportionate wildfire exposure.

External fire escape stairs are used in many countries. They are recognised as building elements that can minimise loss of life in case fire safety precautions are inactive or inadequate. However, external fire escape stairs pose more risk than fire exit stairs, and they have characteristics that pose hazards during access or usage in terms of fire safety. A pilot study conducted in 10 districts of Istanbul showed that the risks are high in external fire escape stairs in the city. According to the results of this study, the districts with the highest number of hazard sources on the external fire-escape stairs are Beyoğlu, Beşiktaş, and Şişli. The aim of this study is to reveal the risks related to fire safety and to prevent or reduce the harm that these risks may cause to users by reviewing the physical conditions of the fire escape stairs in the buildings in the three districts of Istanbul, where the number of hazard sources is the highest, in order to ensure that escape from the buildings in fires is both easy and fast and does not pose a danger to the safety of the user. In this context, using a model consisting of three stages a case study was carried out in the Şişli, Beşiktaş, and Beyoğlu districts of Istanbul. Data on hazard sources were collected in a total of 600 buildings, including 200 buildings with external fire-escape stairs in each of the three districts where the case study was conducted. The risks that may be experienced in the fire escape stairs in these districts were analysed, the results of the analysis were discussed and district-based risk maps were created. The number of hazard sources questioned in the pilot study was increased by new hazard sources identified in the research project. According to the results of the analysis study, a total of 3,580 hazard sources were determined in the interrogation conducted on 18 hazard sources. Among the three districts, the district with the highest risk value is Beyoğlu and the district with the lowest is Beşiktaş. In these districts, necessary actions are decided and recommendations are developed to control the risks and eliminate or reduce the effects of the hazard sources on the users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, elevators are not considered as a proper means of escape in fires and people have been educated and trained to use staircases for fire escape. However, it is difficult for all the occupants to evacuate only by staircases timely and safely in super high-rise buildings, especially for the old and disabled. Considering the fact that super high-rise buildings are constructed in increasing numbers in many Asian cities, it becomes much more necessary to reconsider the use of elevators for emergency escape. Besides a mechanically safe elevator system, people's cooperation is of critical importance to assure an efficient egress process. To explore people's attitude to the use of elevators for fire escape in high-rise buildings and the diversity based on demographics, a study was conducted via face-to-face interviews in two different cities of China. Respondents' demographics and their responses to hypothetical fire scenarios were collected via a set of structured questions. The results showed that most people would consider using elevators for fire escape in super high-rise buildings. The main influencing factors of their attitude were firemen's instruction and the height of their location in the building. Statistical diversity was found based on demographics. These results indicated that people's attitude to elevator evacuation was positive and further study should be very important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In fire-prone ecosystems, bark protects the stem bud bank from fire. Absolute bark thickness is a good indicator of this protective function, but it depends on stem size as well as inherent differences between species. Relative bark thickness (i.e. relative to stem diameter) takes the latter into account. We argue that relative bark thickness is an important functional trait offering insights to the evolution of species persistence in fire-prone habitats., During growth ontogeny different species can acquire absolutely thick bark through having: (i) relatively thick bark (i.e. an early commitment to thick bark) or (ii) relatively thin bark but fast stem diameter growth rates. We test the hypothesis that the most effective way of protecting tree stems from frequent fire is by having relatively thick-barked small stems. We predict that species with higher relative bark thickness are more common in fire-prone habitats. In habitats with long fire-free intervals such as rainforest, delayed investment in bark thickness results in thin bark., We examined the relative bark thickness of woody congeners from Australian non-fire-prone forest and fire-prone savanna and in other tree-dominated systems world-wide. We determined the relative cost of acquiring absolute bark thickness of 0.5 cm for different rates of bark allocation. The insulating benefits of bark were considered a linear function of bark thickness., Synthesis. We suggest that relatively thick bark minimizes the costs of acquiring absolutely thick bark, and it confers greater protection to smaller stems. The cost of acquiring thick bark prevents small trees from merely accumulating bark as a consequence of fast height or stem diameter growth. Accordingly, our field survey indicated that forest species had relatively thin bark and acquired thick bark only as a consequence of very large size, while fire-prone savanna species had relatively thick-barked small stems. Based on this, relative bark thickness appears to be a good predictor of local fire regimes and is a useful plant functional trait. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of families' responses to emergency situations was conducted. Participants included 5 single mothers, and their children, who had been victims of domestic violence. During baseline, families' survival skills were assessed in role-play scenarios involving threatening intruders, fire, and medical emergencies. Subsequently, family members were instructed in ways to manage these emergencies. Components of training were individualized on the basis of each family's situation (e.g., whether they possessed working automobiles, telephones). Results indicated all participants mastered these survival skills and maintained them during follow-up observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]