Development of Safety Measures for Nightclubs

There have been numerous tragic incidents in nightclubs leading to hundreds of fatalities. This thesis attempts the current situation. Different nightclub fires from the past 17 years were analysed in order to identify the critical factors influencing these events. As most dominant factors the illegal operations of nightclubs; the use of pyrotechnics; the choice of materials; manual & automatic fire protection systems; the occupant load and the means of egress were identified. Additionally, the training of staff was found to be valuable, if present. It was never just a single factor influencing the events but always a combination. Additional input has been found by analysing two different evacuation experiments. The influence of staff and the fact that single rooms can become overcrowded before the maximum number of occupants of the venue is reached were identified. The critical factors are addressed in the regulations of the U.S.A. and the UK. It is recommended that countries with less developed codes adapt their codes to the more developed ones or completely adopt them, implement aggressive enforcement, fight corruption and improve their fire safety culture. Additional recommendations for future research are given

Analysing vulnerability to volcanic hazards: application to St. Vincent

Volcanology and volcanic risk assessment have in the past been strongly biased towards pure physical sciences and the study of hazard mechanisms. Traditional vulnerability analyses undertaken at volcanoes have focused on the vulnerability of buildings and the probabilities of loss of life given proximity to a volcanic hazard. These alone, however, cannot explain losses from historical volcanic eruptions. There is an additional strong vulnerability component to volcanic disasters that includes livelihoods, demographics of the population, and economic resources. This thesis reports research findings on vulnerability to volcanic hazards on the island of St. Vincent in the Eastern Caribbean. Four different methods are used to conduct a vulnerability analysis entailing: calculation of a Social Vulnerability Index, analysis of building vulnerability, creation of stakeholder mental maps, and evaluation of historical vulnerability. This mixed-method approach has been adopted as it combines both traditional quantitative methods with qualitative techniques. Only by applying such a range of methods at one location is one able to appraise the methods and compare the geography of the different elements of vulnerability captured. The results show that high levels of social and building vulnerability do not coincide, and that proximity to the threat was the most important variable identified by stakeholders. The historical analysis suggests that vulnerability on St. Vincent is a product of the island’s colonial history, and years of slavery, indentured labour, and the culture of migration for work and education abroad. It was determined that in the case of St. Vincent, no single method is able to capture all elements of vulnerability that are important to stakeholders. This research provides evidence of the need for context-specific vulnerability analyses that utilise a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods, rather than the broad application of global standardised metrics

A contextual analysis of flood hazard management in peninsular Malaysia.

This research seeks to explain the creation and perpetuation of flood hazards in Peninsular Malaysia in terms of a 'hazard response-in-context' model. Socio-political (socio-cultural and political economy) and institutional contexts are found to be central to understanding hazards as essentially socially-created phenomena superimposed onto a physical process system through which hazards are transmitted. Malaysia is an ex-colonial, newly-industrialising country. The pace of social, economic and political change is fast, as is the pace of technological change. Other things being equal, these are the contexts in which flood hazards are magnified. Contexts are changing, and changing physical systems have given rise to increased flood risk, exposure and vulnerability. Other contexts, largely structural, such as persistent poverty, low residential and occupational mobility, landlessness, and ethnic culture have also contributed to increased vulnerability to flood hazards. The situation, behaviour and response of individual floodplain occupants in Peninsular Malaysia are found to be heavily influenced by macro socio-political contexts. These are also termed contextual forces and they are fundamentally 'structural'. Macro contexts also 'condition' institutions (meso context) and influence their approach to hazard management including their effectiveness. Institutions (including organisations) were found to be largely inadequate in their management and reduction of flood hazards, and can be improved to create positive influences on flood hazard reduction as well as help individuals (micro context) cope more effectively. Both socio-political and institutional contexts were found to be important as they amplify hazards or fail to adequately address and reduce them. The pioneering of what is termed 'segment analysis' to analyse links between contexts at various levels is an important contribution in this research. The research concludes that the hazard response-in-context model is appropriately applied to Peninsular Malaysia as it handles both structural and institutional contexts and individual management of flood hazards effectively

Firesafe: Designing for Fire-Resilient Communities in the American West

The perception that wildfires are completely preventable has caused many structures and communities to be built in locations that will inevitably experience an uncontrollable fire event, risking human lives and infrastructure. Modification of built environments into fire-adapted communities has been explored in this thesis, through multiple strategies. Central to this analysis is the idea that sustainable human developments could adopt a form of biomimicry and indigenous design informed by the adaptions of plants, animals, and native groups that endure and even thrive with regular cycles of fire. This possibility has been assessed through the scope of fire adaptation strategies available to architects, builders, and urban planners. Design decisions including the strategic placement of buildings in relation to topography, wind, vegetation type, and fuel loads has been considered. Additionally, other mechanisms for adaptation have been assessed, such as fire-retardant building materials, building form, landscaping, and the density of built form on the scale of single homes, and broader communities. The thesis identifies a typical building site, the adjacent community, the potential threats to landscape and buildings posed by wildfire, and then explores design approaches aimed at improving fire adaptability. These factors have been considered and assessed on a qualitative level and offer new recommendations for building within fire zones. These design ideas and principles can then be applied to a variety of landscapes wherein the wildfire is inevitable, thereby exploring how fire-adapted communities may be built to sustain wildfires through a myriad of methods within a range of regions