Coping capacity assessment of urban fire disaster: An exploratory study on ward no: 30 of Old Dhaka area

Fire is one of the major human-induced hazards which takes place due to less or no precautionary measures. According to the official statistics of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence (BFSCD), a total of 19672 fire incidents took place around the country in the year 2018 from which 6208 incidents took place in Dhaka city. The amount of damage and loss is very high. A total of 130 people died and 664 people were injured due to fire incidents around the country in the year 2018. In this paper, an attempt has been made to find outthe vulnerable condition of the study area in regards to fire disasters with specific vulnerability assessment tools and the existing coping capacity of the people due to fire disasters in the study area. Considering the objectives of this paper a quantitative methodology was used for collecting and analyzing data. For assessing the vulnerability of people in terms of fire a specific questionnaire was developed using the Likert scale. Secondary quantitative data was also explored to cross-check the findings of this paper and to increase reliability and validity. For assessing the coping capacity of the people in this paper, a framework has been used to learn Individual Disaster Coping Capacity (IDCC), Actual Community Disaster Coping Capacity (ACDCC), and Potential Disaster Coping Capacity (PCDCC) of the study area. In both IDCC and ACDCC scales the study area marked very low points. In PCDCC the community marked average to high points. The result represents that the community has the potentiality to cope with fire incidents if they are provided with knowledge and skills development support. This study indicates that with proper supports and interventions the community can develop a satisfactory coping capacity. According to the definition of risk, there are three components which are hazard, vulnerability, and capacity. If we focus to reduce the risk of fire, we need to reduce the vulnerabilities and increase capacity. For this reason, taking different programs and measures to increase the coping capacity of community people will support mitigating and reducing the impacts of fire.