Assessing Social Vulnerability to Fire Hazards at the Kumasi Central Market, Ghana

This article describes how social vulnerability indicators can assist with informing fire disaster relief preparations. Fire outbreaks at the Kumasi Central Market in Ghana have become an annual event. About 27 fire disasters were recorded between 2007 and 2016. This article uses a spatially-centered approach to assess human vulnerability to fire risk at the location. The study used a geographic information system to compliment indicators of vulnerability to assess the level of fire risk and adaptive capacities. Mixed method approach was also used to collect survey data from traders and emergency response agencies. Data sets were analyzed using SPSS and ArcGIS. The study revealed that: most of the damaging fires occur during the dry season; fire hydrants in the market are insufficient and inaccessible; and there are low levels of awareness on fire risk and weak adaptive capacities. The article recommends provision of more fire hydrants and mass education on disaster risk prevention. Also, the market must be reconstructed with fire resistant materials and designed to make it more accessible to fire emergency response.