The UC Forest Fire Research Centre (CEIF) of the Association for the Development of Industrial Aerodynamics (ADAI | FCTUC) will host a demonstration of self-protection solutions for buildings in the event of a rural fire on Wednesday, the 10th of January, starting at 9:15 am.
The workshop will take place at the Forest Fire Studies Laboratory in Lousã and will present the findings of the "House Refuge" project.
In recent years, there has been an upward trend in the severity and frequency of large rural fires. An analysis of the historical fire record shows that the six largest rural fires ever recorded have occurred since 2012. Furthermore, these large events have had a significant impact on the built environment, with an unprecedented number of fatalities.
According to Miguel Almeida, a researcher at ADAI and project coordinator, “one lesson from past tragedies is that, during catastrophic fires, the public firefighting and rural fire protection system is often insufficient to address all necessary interventions. Allocating resources to protect citizens and buildings can limit the capacity to combat the fire at its source, hindering effective action.”
In the management cycle of large wildfires, the capacity for self-protection and measures to prevent and prepare citizens and communities to deal with rural fires are essential and increasingly urgent. However, according to Almeida, “The current Portuguese legislation on rural fire risk management in the urban forest interface (UFI) — the space where vegetation and people or infrastructure coexist significantly — has little scientific basis to support it. Urgent action is needed to develop appropriate and effective public policies and legislation to address this major challenge.'"
The ultimate goal of the project is the 'House-Refuge' concept, aiming to provide low-risk wildfire infrastructure that enables people to safely shelter indoors during a wildfire event. This will be achieved by developing guidelines for best practices in the field of construction and mitigating wildfire risks through measures applicable to both components – construction and the immediate surrounding area.
In addition to the presentation of the main results of the project, the session will present and discuss various scientific, technical, and legal suggestions for managing fire risk in these areas, placing the citizen at the core of the entire process.
Check the following website for further information on the project: www.adai.pt/houserefuge. Programme available here.