Fire Prevention in Urban Environment

Athens, 24-25/11/2010

1st Regional Workshop, Interreg IVC/CIVPRO

1st Regional Workshop Interreg IVC/CIVPRO

Fire Prevention in Urban Environment

Apostolos N. Paralikas

Fire Major, Chemical Engineer

National Civil Protection Operations Center,

General Secretariat for Civil Protection

Outline of the Presentation

1. The Fire Service of Greece (Greek Fire Corps): Historical Background.

2. Types of Incidents - Fatal Incidents3. Fire Prevention Legislation

• According to an ancient Greek myth, FIRE was a privilege of the Gods.

• It was given to the common people as a gift by Promitheas.

• Therefore, he was regarded as a ‘traitor’ of the cast of Gods, and was severely punished for his recklessness, as described in ancient Greek tragedies.

Hellenic Fire Corps Historical Background

• The history of the modern Greek Fire Service is now 80 years old. It was established in 1930.

• Through the existence of the Greek State several organizational forms for fire protection have been tested, in order to provide the citizens and the economy with a sufficient level of protection.

• Many fire disasters have taken place, therefore the need of an efficient system was apparent.

Hellenic Fire Brigade - Historical Background

• The mission was assigned to Alkiviades Kokkinakes, a Greek immigrant from Russia, Chemical Engineer, former head of the St Petersburg Fire Department.

• His model was the Vienna Professional Fire Brigade, that has been existed since 1680.

• His vision included not only training and experience, but also scientific knowledge to be integrated within the framework of the new Service.

Historical Fires

1666 : The Great Fire of London

that destroyed the homes of 70,000 of the City's 80,000 inhabitants.

13,200 houses and most of the buildings of the City authorities were consumed by the fire.

The death toll is unknown but traditionally thought to have been small, as only 6 verified deaths were recorded

Historical Fires

October 1871: The Great Chicago Fire• destroyed about 4 square miles (10 km2)• destroyed 17,500 buildings and 90,000

out of the 300,000 inhabitants, were left homeless,

• After the fire 125 bodies were recovered. • Final estimates of the fatalities ranged

from 200 to 300.• Between two and 3 million books were

destroyed from private library collections.

Historical Fires

1917: The Great Fire of Thessaloniki • It destroyed more that 32% of the

city: 120 acres, or 1 million m2, in 32 hours.

• More than 9.500 houses were burnt, leaving 100.000 people homeless.

• 4.096 out of the 7.695 shops were destroyed, leaving 70 % of the employees with no job.

•

Historical Fires

A number of historic incidents have also taken place in Athens:

• 1854: a Duchess Palace, • 1884: King’s Palace, • 1909: the great Palace fire. • 16-8-1911: the Chemistry University

Building fire, a notorious fire, • 1925, two major fires is Piraeus

Historical Fires

• 19-12 1980: Two simultaneous Department Store fires in the center of Athens.

• 3-6-1981: Two new simultaneous Department Store fires in the center of Athens.

• 4-7-1981 & 7-7-1981: Two new Department Store fires in the center of Athens.

Types of Incidents

The various types of incidence response in the total activity per year is presented as following:

Fatal Incidents

The following Statistics come from the E.U. Fire Safety Network survey of 2004.

E.U. Fire Safety Network is a network of 17 fire & rescue services from the European Union member states.

They refer only to fatalities from fires, not any other cause (natural disasters, etc)

Country Popul.(mil.) Fatal fires 2004 Dead/per Mill. Comments

Austria 8 28 3,5 All type of fires

Czech Rep. 10.2 126/84 in 71 build.fires 12  

Denmark 5.4 86 16  

Estonia 1.4 127 91  

Finland 5.2 110 /106 in buildings 21 fire deaths 30 days.

France 60 About 800 13  

Greece 11 39/37 in urban fires. 3,5 *** H.F.B.

Hungary 10.1 157 15  

Latvia 2.4 195 81  

Lithuania 3.5 233 66  

Norway 4.6 57 in 53 fires 12 All fatal fires

Poland 38 486 13  

Portugal 10 39 4 Urban fires

Slovenia 1.9 17 / 13 in buildings 9 2 in forts + 2 in traf.

Sweden 9.0 65 in 62 fires/56 in blds 7 1 month after fire

U.K. 59.6 532 9 all incidents

Fire Statistics

2001

EU Fire Safety

Network

Fatal Incidents

Possible reasons include:• Professional Fire Brigade covers all country.• Type of buildings/ new constructions,

extensive use of concrete.• Fire prevention legislation covers most

activities

Fire Prevention Legislation

Existing Fire Prevention Legislation

1. Fire Inspections circular (1960).

2. Fire Ordinances (since 1980).

3. Building Fire Regulation (“New” buildings) (1988).

4. Industrial Fire Safety Degree.

5. Gas & Liquid Safety & Fire Prevention Degrees, Codes and Regulations.

Fire Ordinances

Fire Ordinances are issued by the Chief of the Hellenic Fire Service, having Legal Authorization (Law 616/1977).

Each one refers to specific use of “existing” buildings. (before 1989)

Fire Ordinances

F.O.1 (1978): Big Department Stores Fire Prevention

F.O.2 (1979): Hotel Fire PreventionF.O.3 (1981): Public PlacesF.O.4 (1987): Urban LandF.O.5 (1991): Fire Certificates ValidityF.O.6 (1996): Warehouses Fire PreventionF.O.7 (1996): Hot Work PermitsF.O.8 (1978): Store Fire Prevention

Fire Ordinances

F.O.9 (2000) & 9a (2005): Fire Prevention measures in forests and agricultural lands

F.O.10 (2002): Marine and Harbor Fire Prevention

F.O.11 (2003): Tent & prefabricated structures Fire Prevention

F.O.12c (2010): Maintenance of Fire Prevention Means

F.O.13a (2010): Fire Permit Procedures.

Building Fire Regulation (“New” buildings)

Presidential Degree No 71/1988

Refers to all new buildings, built after February 1989.

For every new building, during the Building Permit procedure, 2 (Active and Passive) Fire Prevention Studies must be submitted.

Occupational Health & Safety Regulation

O.H.&S. Regulation (mainly based on E.U. Directives) compliments Fire Safety Regulation.

Effective since 1997, imposes a number of obligations, aiming at workers safety, that include a number of provisions, such as:

• Escape Plans• Emergency Exits• Fire Safety Training• Safety Signs

Other Relevant Regulation

• Major Accident Hazards Regulation (“Sevezo” type establishments.)

• Explosible Atmospheres Directives (ATEX)

Overview

The scope of this presentation was to present an overview:

1. The Fire Service of Greece (Greek Fire Corps): Historical Background.

2. Types of Incidents - Fatal Incidents3. Fire Prevention Legislation

Fire Prevention in Urban Environment

Thank You for your Attention!!