ABSTRACT
Fire, a combustion process is an essential part of our day-to-day life. It can be a disaster when it notably increases the prospect of an already occurring fire, boosts any existing fire, or cause an increase in the potential harms by uncontrollable fire. Responders to fire hazards are not very much well organized in a developing world like India, with challenges mounting every passing day due to the frequency and intensity of the hazards India’s capital city, New Delhi with its ever-expanding population, comprehensive crowded localities, and unplanned growth has always been at high risk to fire hazards. The vulnerability and risk have multiplied owing to growing anthropogenic activities Vis -a- Vis limited fire services and existing infrastructure. The present research will look to undertake and review the risk perception of fire hazards at the locality level and its presence in districts of Delhi, India. It will further look to outline the mitigation strategies and initiatives to combat fire hazards in the future. The primary data was collected using social media tools like Google forms, owing to the tough time of the pandemic. Based on the 250 respondents, the study has looked to analyse the Demographic, Economic, Physical, Social, and Psychological factors to understand the perception of risk and vulnerability. It was found that the majority of the population was unaware of the fire safety norms and risks involved. Though they perceived fire hazards and risk associated, unawareness made them highly vulnerable to fire hazards. Different Geospatial tools such as Quantum GIS, Google Earth Engine have been effectively used to co-relate the risk perception with an increasing number of fire accidents across Delhi. It was suggested that the city administration should look to increase the number of fire stations and staff and upgrade the existing infrastructure. Knowledge-based skill development initiatives, the idea of fire prevention inspectors at the locality level, and awareness campaigns at societies should be promoted and carried out to combat and prevent future fire events.
