GIS-based service analysis for optimal planning of location of fire stations: case study of Kampala City

Abstract

Due to the growing population and the rapid economic development, Kampala city is undergoing rapid urbanization and there is a need for the growth of the fire department to ensure safety of people and their properties. This study involved carrying out a GIS-based service analysis for optimal planning of location of fire stations. The methodology involved collecting fire incident data for the period 2019-2023 from the Directorate of Fire and Rescues Services in Kampala. The fire incident data provided important information such as the nearest landmark, cause of the fire incident, level of damage, date of the incidents and time. The causes of the fire incidents were subject to frequency and percentage analysis. The analysis was done using Microsoft Excel and presented in percentages using charts. To analyse spatial distribution of fire incidents, nearest neighbor analysis was carried out followed by mapping of fire hot spot areas in Kampala. To obtain optimum location for new locations, first service area analysis for the existing fire station was carried out, this was followed by carrying out suitability analysis and finally location allocation to obtain the optimum location for new fire stations. The results revealed that majority of fire outbreaks in Kampala were discovered to be unknown constituting (48 % ), electric related faults constituted (41 % ) and Others causes such as arson, charcoal stove left unattended to, candle wax left unattended to, children playing with match box etc. constituted (about 11%). This implied that most efforts should be put in fire prevention by implementing measures such as establishing more fire stations rather than mitigation. Analysis of the spatial distribution of fire out breaks showed that fire out breaks area clustered throughout most parts of the city thus the whole city is prone to fire outbreaks. Service area analysis for the existing Clock tower fire station showed that Kampala City is not well covered by fire stations services. Therefore, there is a need to add more fire station in Kampala to provide timely response to fire out breaks. Suitability analysis combined with location allocation analysis resulted in proposing three new fire stations locations that will cover all parts of the city within 5-minutes 20 seconds response time which is recommended by international bodies like NFPA.