Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

Rapid spread of fire endangers life and surrounding property. Once a fire has a hold damage can become extensive unless it is speedily tackled by experienced firefighters. The local authority fire brigades are adept at exceptionally rapid turnouts, but the time it takes to get to a fire is necessarily dependent upon the distance to be travelled, and upon the conditions experienced during the journey. The time that elapses between the brigade receiving the alarm and its arrival at the incident is directly affected by the location of the fire station. Selecting the optimum number of fire stations and their best position in relation to each other will minimize the total loss from fire. The area to be served by each fire station must be taken into consideration, and this will depend upon the number of stations and will change as their number and location alters.