Identification and prioritization of effective factors in fire incidents preparation programs

Abstract

One of the major challenges in mega cities is the degree of the preparedness of organizations, institutions and people in facing with critical conditions and their immediate reaction according to pre-defined instructions. Identification of priorities and acting accordingly is an undeniable factor in urban crisis management. The purpose of this research was to identify the priorities of preparedness and readiness to immediate responses in case of large fire incident occurrence in the urban areas. District 9 of Tehran municipality was selected as a case study. Considering the Specific regional conditions of this area such as high population, old unstable housing constructions, presence of Mehr-abad air port at the heart of the district, and the gas transmission pipeline mark this district as a vulnerable area to fire incidents. According to the crisis management readiness index, 2 types of questionnaires were distributed among members of the crisis department and fire rescue forces of the district 9. The results reviled that the most important priorities were basic training to residents, equipping the gas valves with automatic cut off switches in an emergency situation, training the responsible personnel to act efficiently in the early hours of accident and performing maneuvers. SPSS software was used for statistical analysis and Cranach's alpha coefficient was used to test the reliability of the questionnaire and to test the hypotheses single-sample T -test was used.