Capability Gap
[4.CGF.1]
Inadequate perception of fire risk and lack of risk awareness in Wildland Urban Interface areas
Background
- Lack of security culture: wildfire risk prevention isn’t integrated in the mindset and lifestyle of the citizens living in the WUI areas.
- Neither perception nor ownership of fire risk: most citizens remain inactive even if they are informed of the fire risk
- Systematic risk communication and organized citizen awareness campaigns are missing for fire prone WUI areas.
- Tourists and visitors to WUI fire-prone areas are more exposed to fire risk than locals, since they have limited knowledge of the territory and the local risks.
Workshop Findings
It was agreed that there is Lack of security culture: wildfire risk prevention is not integrated in the mindset and lifestyle of the citizens living in the WUI areas. Also, many citizens remain inactive even if they are informed about the fire risk, that is there is no perception neither ownership of fire risk. Both WUI residents and practitioners operating in WUI areas agreed that there are no adequate citizen awareness campaigns and there are no Systematic risk communications to residents. Lastly, Tourists and visitors to WUI fire-prone areas are more exposed to fire risk than locals since they have limited knowledge of the territory and the local risks. As a result, there is Inadequate Perception of Fire Risk and Lack of Risk Awareness in Wildland Urban Interface Areas.
The perception of risk depends on risk culture which differs per person. What one resident in a WUI area might consider as severe risk, a neighbour or a visitor might evaluate it differently. Although WUI fires are a frequent phenomenon during the last decades, there is no guidance provided to the public about safety practices. One of the reasons that might affect the perception of risk is the familiarity with the area (residents are more familiar with the area than visitors/tourists). The former group is aware of the available possible evacuation routes. Moreover, area visitors who do not speak the local language have an additional disadvantage of being informed and evacuate to a safe destination. More important is that the entire population in WUI areas do not receive any form of training on how to react in case of a WUI fire, while the complexity of the WUI environment and the WUI fire propagation patterns might turn some evacuation routes from safe to risky within minutes.
| Technology Dimension Attributes | |||
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No technology solutions to guide evacuees in case of a WUI fire and provide real time guidance based on the WUI fire progress and the location of evacuees. |
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Lack of multilanguage public announcement systems to inform foreigners when an evacuation is scheduled. |
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