Fire risk assesment in metropolitan cities: Sample of Sakarya province

The province of Sakarya has historically hosted human life since the 12th century BC and many civilizations ruled over it. Thanks to its ancient history and geographical structure, it is a place with a nation-wide importance. After the proclamation of the Republic, until 17 June 1954, it was known as a district of Kocaeli, but after this date, it was qualifed as a province via a law accepted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. From this date until the decision of the Council of Ministers dated March 6, 2000, it was managed as a provincial municipality, and it gained the metropolitan status with the decree numbered 593 that was published in the Official Gazette. Sakarya province, which has a surface area of 4817 square kilometers with its 16 districts, has a population of 1,060,876 people according to the data of the Turkish Statistical Institute prepared in 2021. In the province of Sakarya, which has a developing structure, the first natural gas distribution was realized in 2003. Today, with a gas distribution network of 4224 km, it has reached 250,000 subscribers. As it has ports, railways, highways and international roads within its provincial borders, Sakarya hosts many private and state-supported factories. Due to its convenient structure in transportation, 7 Organized Industrial Zones were established in the province of Sakarya. Combustion is a reaction that is formed by the combination of flammable material, oxygen and heat and causes great disasters unless it is controlled. In the event that this cannot be intervened, great financial and emotional damage might take place. One of the sources needed for combustion to occur is combustible material. Combustible materials usually have an organic compound structure. These substances are solid, liquid and gaseous flammable substances. Each combustion state has its own characteristic features. These are as follows; •In solid combustible materials, it changes from solid state by melting and becomes liquid, evaporates with the heat it receives and ensures the continuation of the combustion event. •In liquid flammable materials, the combustible substance is not liquid but evaporating gases. There is no charring in such combustible materials. Combustion takes place quickly. Liquid flammable substances are divided into two: the ones miscible with water and the ones immiscible with water. Depending on their miscibility with water, liquid flammable substances may change the intervention patterns. While it is possible to interfere with water-miscible liquids with water, flammable liquids that do not mix with water can be intervened with foams that have the feature of covering. •In gaseous flammable materials, the combustion tendencies are different depending on solid and liquid state. Such combustible materials tend to burn very quickly. A small spark is all it takes to trigger the fire. Gaseous flammable substances are usually contained in closed containers. The burning event continues with the explosion of the area where they are located, and then with a burning flame. In order for the combustible material to show a combustion reaction, there are lower and upper explosion limits, but it also needs at least 12% oxygen in its environment. One of the factors needed for combustion to take place is oxygen. Pure oxygen is not flammable. However, it has a burning feature with the mixture it forms with the other gases in the air. Oxygen is odorless and colorless. For gas combustions, there should be at least 12 % of it in the environment and at least 16% of it for solid and liquid combustions. Oxygen rate in our atmosphere is 21% and this rate is sufficient for combustion to take place. The last factor needed for combustion to take place is heat. In nature, oxygen and combustible material are in constant contact, but combustion does not occur. In order for combustion to take place, it must be combined with the heat that can provide the ignition temperature. When all the necessary conditions are met, combustion can take place. Heat sources are divided into two: natural sources and artificial ones. Natural sources are sun, lightning, volcanic eruptions. Artificial sources are electricity, friction and explosive materials. Combustion occurs in 5 ways when all the necessary conditions are met. These are slow burning, self-combustion, fast burning, burning in the form of flashing and explosion and detonation. •Slow burning occurs when the symptoms such as heat and smoke are so little that they cannot be noticed; steam or flammable gas is not formed; there is not enough oxygen and the heat is insufficient. The breathing of living things or the oxidation of iron are examples of slow combustion. •Self-combustion is the progress of the substance going into rapid combustion in the form of a slow burning over time. Ambient temperature can create the necessary combustion environment. •Fast burning is a form of combustion that includes all the states of combustion. In rapid combustion, there is heat, light, flame and embering. •Burning in the form of flashing and explosion: Flashing is the reaction of evaporating liquid substances with oxygen and heat, while explosion is the situation where the substance is completely burned instantly. •Detonation, on the other hand, is the term for combustion reactions formed by explosive substances, which is very rapid. Although fire is defined as" a great blaze that causes damage" by the Turkish Language Association, we can also refer to fires that have gone out of control as "fire". The fire incident is based on many reasons. These are usually ignorance, carelessness, negligence, accidents, jumping and sabotage. Fires in the world and in our country are classified in terms of probability of intervention potentials. The classifications made in our country are similar to the standards of other countries. According to the classification made in our country, fires are divided into 5 classes by the Turkish Standards Institute in terms of their content and intervention methods. These are as follows: •Class A fires are organic solid fires that have become embers. •Class B Fires are called solid fires that are in liquid form or that can liquefy. •Class C fires involve gas fires. •Class D fires involve metal fires. •Class F fires involve the fires of vegetable and animal oils in cooking utensils. Many disasters are taking place in the world. As a result of these disasters, human life is interrupted and can come to a halt. As a result, they lead to many material and moral losses. While some of the disasters such as drought and famine occur slowly, disasters such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions and fires are too sudden. Fire, on the other hand, can have a great impact when it cannot be brought under control and can negatively affect human life. Since the lower Paleolithic period, when human beings started to use fire, it was seen as an enemy as well as being a friend. In order to take this enemy under control, different practices have been tried in each period and as a result of the improvements made, today's modern concept of firefighting has emerged. In this respect, it is known that the first organization in history was started by the Roman Emperor Ogustus. The first fire department created by Ogustus started to serve in 7 different regions by slaves. This vital organization went beyond the Roman territory and developed itself with the innovations brought by the time. When we come to the present day, in the republican period, fire brigades were transferred to municipalities, which are a local government unit. In the organizational structure of the municipalities, the fire department is positioned as a directorate. Over time, with the increase in the population of the provinces and the development of the industry, there have been many changes in the concept of the local government. Metropolitan Municipalities have started to function in local administration. With the establishment of metropolitan cities, fire brigades have been transformed into departments in every metropolitan city, since they are a compulsory service group in the organizational structuring. In this study, we evaluated the province of Sakarya. Sakarya fire brigade suffered great damage by the earthquake that took place on August 17, 1999, with all its equipments and vehicles, being under the rubble and consequently, the organization completely collapsed. Many projects have been started to restore the fire department together with the city. The most important of these projects was the restructuring the organisation within the scope of the Marmara Earthquake Rehabilitation Program with the special agreement of the European Union grant. Sakarya fire brigade has gained an important place above the general average in Turkey by supplying many vehicles and equipments within the scope of this project. Sakarya fire brigade, which gave firefighting services as a department since it became a metropolitan city in 2000, serves with 4 branch offices, 12 groups and 7 platoons. In addition, in 2014, with the service borders covering the entire province, it started to provide lifeguard services on the coastline. It applies its service standards within the scope of "Municipal Fire Brigade Regulation" numbered 26326. In this study, the structural fires that took place in Sakarya province between the years 2015-2022 were examined through statistical data. With the structural fire data discussed, it was determined that there were a total of 29793 fire incidents in a 8-year period, and a total of 5773 structural fires. With respect to the causes of fire, it is seen that the fires in the chimneys and the heaters are in the first place, and then come the electrical fires. Fire-related civilian injuries and death rates over the years have been discussed as well. A total of 591 civilian injuries occurred between 2015 and 2022, and 57 deaths occurred in the same time period. With this study, fires in Sakarya districts and fire load based on population are also examined. In conclusion, the primary duties of fire brigades, which have been developing throughout history in our country, as in all countries, are to prevent possible fires before they occur or to intervene as soon as possible. Although they have different structures in each country, the organizations serve the same purpose. Sakarya province, on the other hand, is a city with a high fire risk due to its geographical features. In the light of the data between 2015-2022, it has been seen that most fires occur in reinforced concrete buildings. It is observed that the fires originating from the chimney and electricity are high in number and the fires that occur are mostly seen in winter months. It is found that strengthening the Sakarya fire brigade and keeping up with technological innovations is needed. It is also emphasized that security measures need to be taken before and after the fire in order to prevent citizens' material and moral loss.