Fire Risk in Urban Bangladesh: A Case Study-Based Evaluation

Fire hazards pose serious threats to human life, property, natural resources and the environment. Bangladesh has witnessed numerous devastating fire incidents across various sectors over the past two decades, with the majority occurring in urban area, resulting human casualties and substantial economic loss. This study aims to reveal the current state of fire risk in three urban districts of Bangladesh, focusing on vulnerable infrastructure and population density and to analyze different case studies of major urban fire events in recent years to determine the specific causes and impacts while formulating recommendations for long-term sustainability. The study uses both primary data which is field observations and secondary data which is collected from Google Earth Pro, Diva GIS, OSM, ESRI imageries, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, USGS, government reports, organization-based survey, journals and articles. Spatial-integrated mixed-method is applied by combining geospatial analysis, case studies and satellite imageries to assess urban fire risk and generate population density, fire station distribution, and land use maps, culminating in validated fire risk maps through overlay and proximity analysis. Population density map reveals that all city corporation areas exhibit high fire risk. Fire station distribution is most concentrated in Dhaka, moderately in Chattogram, and least integrated in Gazipur. Dhaka is the most urban fire-prone district due to high population density, chemical storage mismanagement in residential-commercial mixed areas and poor evacuation planning, while Chattogram shows relatively lower vulnerability, except industrial zones. Strengthening regulatory enforcement, improving infrastructure and comprehensive fire risk governance is necessary to tackle fire incidents in urban Bangladesh.