Fire prevention - Bouka

Japanese: 防火 - ぼうか

It means to prevent fires, and broadly includes 1. fire prevention, which involves managing fires to prevent fires from starting, 2. fire extinguishing, which involves preventing the spread of fires and putting out fires, and 3. fire prevention, which involves preventing fires from spreading from outside. In Japan, where many buildings are made of wood, emphasis has been placed on measures to prevent the building itself from burning and on measures to prevent fires from spreading from neighboring buildings. Fires seem to have been commonplace since ancient times, and Vitruvius of ancient Rome also pointed out the dangers of wooden walls and recommended that exterior walls be made of flame-resistant materials. In medieval cities in Western Europe, brick structural walls were built on the boundaries between neighboring properties to prevent fires from spreading, and these served as fire barriers. On the other hand, in Japan, where most homes were made of wood until the early modern period, the only way to prevent fires from spreading was to keep a sufficient distance between neighboring houses. However, this was impossible in urban areas, and as a result, in Edo alone during the Edo period, there were nearly 100 fires that spread as far as 2 km. Of course, measures were taken such as plastering the exterior of buildings with mud or using tile roofs, but it was not until the early Showa period that fire-resistant structures based on scientific methods were proposed. Currently, legally, municipalities are required to designate fire prevention areas and semi-fire prevention areas under the City Planning Act, and in fire prevention areas, the Building Standards Act stipulates that buildings over a certain size where many people gather must be fireproof. Furthermore, as buildings become taller, the removal of smoke from fires and the prevention of their spread have become important issues. →Fire

Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

火災を防ぐことをいい，広くは，1.火気の管理を行って火災にならないようにする火災予防，2.火事になってもその拡大を防いで火を消す消火，3.外部で発生した火災の燃え移りを防ぐ類焼防止などが含まれる。木造建築物が多い日本では，建物自体が燃えることを防ぐ対策と，隣接の建物からの延焼を防ぐ対策に重点が置かれてきた。古代から火災は日常的だったようで，古代ローマのウィトルウィウスも，木造壁の危険性を指摘して，燃えにくい材料で外壁を作るよう述べている。西欧の中世の都市では延焼防止のために隣地との境界線上に煉瓦造の構造壁が作られ，これが防火壁としての役割を果たした。一方，近世に至るまで住宅の大半が木造建築であった日本の場合，延焼を防ぐには隣家との距離を十分に取るしかなかった。しかし都市部ではそれは不可能であり，結果として江戸時代の江戸だけでも，延焼距離が2kmにおよぶ火事が100回近くも起こっている。もちろん建物の外部に土塗りをしたり，瓦葺きを採用するなどの対策もとられたが，科学的な手法に基づく防火構造が提案されるのは昭和の初期に入ってからのことである。現在，法的には，都市計画法に基づき，市町村が防火地域および準防火地域を指定することになっており，防火地域では建築基準法により，多くの人が集まる一定規模以上の建物は耐火建築物としなければならないと定められている。なお，建物の高層化に伴って，火災に伴う煙の排除や伝播の防止も重要な課題となっている。→火事

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