Manifestation of an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Model on Fire Potential Zonation Mapping in Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Nepal

Even though fewer people die as a result of fire than other natural disasters, such as earthquake, flood, landslide, etc., the average loss of property due to fire is high. Kathmandu Metropolitan City is becoming more vulnerable to fire due to haphazard urbanization and increase in population. To control problems due to fire, systematic studies are necessary, including fire potential mapping and risk assessment. This study applies an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method in Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Nepal for generation of fire potential zonation map. The fire potential zonation map is prepared on the basis of available data of land use, fuel stations, and population density. This map shows that 58.04% of the study area falls under low fire potential zone, 32.92% falls under moderate fire potential zone and 9.04% falls under high fire potential zone. The map is also validated through major past fire incidents. The results show that the predicted fire potential zones are found to be in good agreement with past fire incidents, and, hence, the map can be used for future land-use planning