Fires, Urban

Like any phenomenon, fire may be categorized in many ways. In terms of physical settings, fires may be broadly categorized into wildland fires, rural fires, suburban fires, and urban fires. Wildland fires occur on largely undeveloped land, such as those in national parks and state forests. Rural fires occur on sparsely developed land, usually associated with areas used for farming or recreation. Suburban fires occur in areas that, although comprised of mixed-usage development, are predominately residential in nature. Urban fires are those occurring in densely populated areas, usually involving a mixture of commercial, industrial, transportation, mercantile, entertainment, and residential development.

The concept of urban was, in the past, largely associated with population density. Greater numbers of people living together created an environment with unique characteristics, including mixed property usage and an increased fire threat due to human activity. In the modern world, improvements in transportation, communications, and zoning practices have altered this concept. Current zoning practices in most communities restrict the categorization of residential and industrial occupancies on adjacent properties, let alone on differing floors of the same occupancy, which was once considered acceptable. While industrial sites were once located primarily near major transportation nodes, such as ports, they may now be located in suburban or rural settings, as modern transportation modalities provide for greater ease in the movement of goods than was once possible. Once considered relatively safe from the fire threat posed by technologies, rural areas are now home to power production plants, major transportation corridors, prisons, and petrochemical pipelines. Consequently, many of the potential threats for a major fire [Page 210]once associated only with densely populated cities may now be found virtually anywhere.