Authors:
Chien-Yuan Chen
1
and
Qi-Hua Yang
2
Affiliations:
1
National Chiayi University, Taiwan
;
2
Tainan City Government Fire Bureau, Taiwan
Keyword(s):
Geographic Information System, Hotspot, Fire Prevention, Geo-Statistical Analyis.
Abstract:
Fire can take lives and destroy structures. However, modern technology can assist authorities to make decisions on fire disaster prevention. Geographic information systems can play a vital role in fire prevention and mitigation by predicting potential hotspots for fires. This study collected and analysed data on fires in Tainan City in southern Taiwan. Spatial statistics analysis tools employing average nearest neighbour analysis and global analysis through Moran's I were used to analyse whether the fires had a clustered pattern and to plot a fire hotspot map using Getis-Ord Gi* analysis. The results showed that the highest fire risk index is that for people over 80 years old, followed by those between the ages of 60 and 80. The spatial distributions of fire locations, injuries, deaths, factory fires, house fires, and wild fires have clustered patterns in the city. The fire hotspots surround the downtown districts, which have high population density and highly developed commercial an
d industry areas. The fire cold spots are located in the lowly developed mountainous and coastal areas, which have lower population density. Residents in hotspots should be able to better understand their fire risk through studying the hotspot map. Moreover, authorities can identify hotspots for decision making on fire prevention and urban development planning.
(More)