Study of Building Vulnerabilities to Forest Fires in Portugal

Nowadays with disorderly urban growth into forested areas and climate changes becoming more pronounced, the number of buildings affected by forest fires is increasing. Forest fires are becoming more destructive and socially threatening. However, it is irrefutable that the probability of a forest fire to reach a structure is dramatically reduced by implementing good construction practices and proper fuel management procedures in the environment. Aiming to evaluate the behavior of construction elements of a structure facing a forest fire with testing close to reality, a demonstrative test was performed by the authors in a small house located in a forest environment, in the municipality of Miranda do Corvo, in Portugal. The test consisted of burning a plot of land, with a high forest fuel load, where the house was exposed to a high heat flux originating from the flame front. The separation strip between the fuels and the house was 50cm. With the observation of the results, it was verified that even though the house had an incombustible structure, the construction elements such as window glass, door, thermal insulation and exhaust fans presented vulnerabilities to be considered when it is assumed that a house can serve as shelter in case of fire. It is important to emphasize that the study and research on the vulnerability of buildings in the face of a wildfire at an urban-forest interface must be integrated with all the constraints and variables that surround this theme.

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