This paper was based on a research undertaken as part of
the thesis work for my Master's degree at the Department of Geography, University of
Dhaka. Abstract:Dhaka Statistical Metropolitan Area (SMA) is an inadequately-planned urban unit that has been developed without any consideration of the problem of incidence of fire hazards. This paper presents a hazard assessment model for classifying Dhaka SMA into various fire hazard zones according to an index of relative fire hazardousness (IRFH). The model defines the IRFH as a product of the probability (frequency) and magnitude of fire, and works with data on 902 cases of fire that took place in Dhaka SMA and were reported to at least one of the fire-service stations of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence in 1987 and 1988. The study finds that Sutrapur, Kotwali, Motijheel, Tejgaon, and Ramna thanas comprise the most hazardous zone while Bandar, Gulshan, Keraniganj, and Siddhirganj thanas belong to the least hazardous zone identified by the model. (c) Copyright 1996-2006 M. Sayeeduzzaman |