Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

Fire accidents have been a burden to the global environment because (1) they generate a great amount of debris (2) they consume other new materials and energy for reconstruction activities (3) they disperse many toxic and/or harmful substances to surrounding areas. Earthquake fires have been a threat to the sustainability of many societies, with many buildings and houses being burned down, including heritage buildings. All societies need to inherit sustainable facilities based on environmental features linked to cultural issues. In Japan, almost all houses, historical shrines and temples, have been constructed of wood with no design features to guard against fire. These practices allow traditional succession to easily vanish in a fire. This paper is mainly aimed at clarifying both the requirements of fire protection performance, and the amount of burnt down debris including CO2, from an environmental point of view.