Fires

Over the centuries, fires have induced significant impacts on lives, property, cultural heritage, our environment, and continuity of operations of affected businesses, whether a result of human or natural causes. The magnitude of these events and the way these crises have been managed has evolved over the years. Centuries ago, for instance, fires could develop, spread, and consume large portions of cities (e.g., the great fires of Rome [64 b.c.e.], London [1666], and Chicago [1871]). These fires each destroyed large sections of their respective cities. Natural disasters have also led to large fires and extensive damage. This includes fires following earthquakes (e.g., 1906 San Francisco or 1995 Kobe), where fires caused relatively as much damage as the earthquakes themselves. Devastating fires have also been initiated by humans. This includes during war. This has resulted in considerable damage, including during World War II (e.g., Dresden, Tokyo, and London). Whether resulting from an accident or human-made, these “urban” fires once grew to immense proportions. To manage these crises better, building and fire codes over the last century have helped reduce these citywide conflagrations, and fires have been contained typically to the building of origin. However, during this period, there were numerous large life-loss fires that led to significant changes to building codes, laws, and ordinances to further address the need for additional life safety–related measures. These disasters have included the fires at the Iroquois Theater (1903), Triangle Shirtwaist Factory (1911), and Coconut Grove Night Club (1942). Crisis management has thus evolved over the centuries, typically through experience and past crises, yet there is more that can be done to prevent and mitigate these events from becoming large crises.