Consideration on the escape from the housing fire on heavy snowy areas during winter

This paper deals on the escape from the house fire on heavy snowy areas during winter and context to induce further aggravation of fatality. The Mid-Niigata earthquake (M 6.8) which occurred on 23rd Oct 2004, caused many casualties. Many houses were either destroyed or damaged from earthquake shock already. The snow precipitation of more than 2 m. in depth after earthquake made the situation worse. In addition to that, density of snow was too high measuring 3.4kN/㎥ to 5.0kN/㎥ which caused difficulty in removing the snow. About 30% of the habitant of study area were of aging society and unable to remove the deposited snow from the roof as well as building surrounding. In such circumstances, fire occurred by any cause could make the heavy loss of life and property. For instance, a house caught in fire resulted in death of four people in the Tochibori of Nagaoka city of heavy snowy area. The study revealed that the main cause to happen such incidents were the lack of escape ways as the main entrance of the house were hindered by the pile of snows. In addition, back doors and windows were bolted from wooden planks to prevent from the snow. In order to prevent from heavy loss, any house should be provisioned with two escape gates. The study suggests that government as well as volunteering group should be focused to clear the heavy snow in the resident of aging society as well as economically deprived area