Innovative Action for Forest Fire Prevention in Kythira Island, Greece, through Mobilization and Cooperation of the Population: Methodology and Challenges

The island of Kythira in Greece suffered a major forest fire in 2017 that burned 8.91% of its total area and revealed many challenges regarding fire management. Following that, the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature joined forces with the Institute of Mediterranean and Forest Ecosystems in a project aiming to improve fire prevention there through mobilization and cooperation of the population. This paper describes the methodology and the results. The latter include an in-depth analysis of fire statistics for the island, development of a forest fuels map, and prevention planning for selected settlements based on fire modeling and on an assessment of the vulnerability of 610 structures, carried out with the contribution of groups of volunteers. Emphasis was placed on informing locals, including students, through talks and workshops, on how to prevent forest fires and prepare their homes and themselves for such an event, and on mobilizing them to carry out fuel management and forest rehabilitation work. In the final section of the paper, the challenges that the two partners faced and the project achievements and shortcomings are presented and discussed, leading to conclusions that can be useful for similar efforts in other places in Greece and elsewhere.

A Study on Strengthening Standards for Fire Prevention of Anti-freeze Electric Heating Cable

As per the fire statistics survey of 2019, 56.5% (152 cases) of the entire fire accidents (269 cases) caused by heating cables were due to electrical factors. Therefore, in the present work, the electrical factors responsible for heating cable fire have been analyzed, and fire prevention measures have been demonstrated through related reproduction experiments. According to heating cable fire statistics, the fire in anti-freezing appliances (heating cables), except for fires caused by electric cable arcing and other unknown factors, can be classified into four types based on installation configurations. These configurations have been classified and tested according to the Technical Regulations for Electrical and Telecommunications Products and Components (K 10013). The results of a comparative experiment on anti-freezing appliances (heating cable) revealed that the configuration “a type of water pipe with a heating cable wrapped around the water pipe and insulation on the outside” showed the highest temperature among the four installation arrangements. Additionally, the maximum difference between the test temperature (K 10013) and the actual temperature was 40 ℃.

BUILDING PROTECTION DESIGN IN FIRE HAZARD PREVENTION (CASE STUDY: FAJAR UNIVERSITY BUILDING (UNIFA) MAKASSAR)

<p>The growth and arrangement of existing buildings are sometimes not balanced with the readiness of building and urban infrastructure. The main danger of fire for humans is poisoning due to inhalation of smoke, about 75% of human deaths in burning buildings are caused by smoke, about 25% of deaths are caused by heat generated by fire. To carry out the functions and uses, the building consists of several systems, the system consists of sub-systems that form integrally in a single unit. Fire prevention is one of the building systems, which aims to save lives. Fire prevention is one aspect of building safety. To find out and assess the level of reliability of a building against fire hazards, a problem formulation is formulated, namely How to design a fire prevention analysis that can be applied to buildings. The conclusion that can be drawn regarding the design of a fire prevention inspection system and its application is, the design of a building reliability inspection system in fire prevention is one of the tools in assessing and inspecting buildings for fire prevention measures in buildings. Inspection of building reliability in fire prevention is carried out at the smallest level or on building components, can provide a more detailed assessment/inspection of the fire prevention system, Assessment of Rescue Means Components, Assessment of Active Protection Components, Passive Protection Assessment Means.</p>