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An Analysis of the Post-earthquake Fire Safety of Historic Buildings in Kyoto, Japan

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Abstract

Relative to other cities in Japan, Kyoto contains an outstanding agglomeration of historic buildings. These historic buildings are crucial for maintaining Kyoto’s irregular ranking as a historical city. However, several active faults occur near Kyoto that could cause severe seismic damage to the city. Thus, post-earthquake fire is one of the most threatening potential disasters that could destroy Kyoto’s invaluable historic buildings. Here, the post-earthquake fire safety of 2,131 historic buildings in the city of Kyoto was analyzed. This analysis was conducted by Monte Carlo simulation with a physics-based urban fire spread model that was formerly developed by the author. This scenario assumes the three following exclusive events that lead to the burn-down of historic buildings: (I) the ignition in the vicinity of the target historic building; (II) inadequate firefighting activity during the initial stage of the fire; and (III) the occurrence of widespread fire in urban areas following ignition. In general, the post-earthquake fire safety of designated and registered historic buildings was greater than that of undesignated and unregistered historic buildings. In addition, in the worst case scenario, 30% of the national treasures and important cultural properties would be damaged in the center of Kyoto city.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto, 611-0011, Japan

    Keisuke Himoto

  2. Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum, Kobe, Japan

    Takumi Nakamura

Authors
  1. Keisuke Himoto
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  2. Takumi Nakamura
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Keisuke Himoto.

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Himoto, K., Nakamura, T. An Analysis of the Post-earthquake Fire Safety of Historic Buildings in Kyoto, Japan. Fire Technol 50, 1107–1125 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-013-0330-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-013-0330-0

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