Authors : J.O. Ejikeme, J.I. Igbokwe, N.G. Johnson and A.C. Chukwuocha
Abstract: The number of natural and human-made disaster is on the rise worldwide. Over the last few months, Nigeria has witnessed an astronomic increase in rate of bombing and other fire outbreak. Recently, a Dana plane crashed in Lagos, Nigeria killing about 152 passengers. Most of these passengers died as a result of the fire outbreak. The rates of fire outbreak have increased tremendously in Onitsha metropolis. This may be attributed to illegal electricity connection and lack of quick response by the fire service department to stop the fire at an early stage. Government has lost a lot of money in payment of compensation to victim of fire outbreak. The emotional distress on the victim of this incidence is unquantifiable and in some cases result to loss of human lives. Government in its effort to tackle this problem has invigorated the state fire service department to be able to tackle this challenge by providing new equipment for them. But how effective has this effort been able to solve this problem. GIS offers itself as an effective tool to manage this problem since it can graphically display features on the ground and be able to perform query on them. The analytical capabilities of GIS can detect the possible shortest route as well as model the housing pattern and location of important features, thereby providing a quick response to fire outbreak. This study discusses the application of GIS to effectively manage fire disaster in Onitsha metropolis. It explores the great potential of GIS in managing fire disasters through sample queries. The research recommends immediate increase in the number of fire stations in Onitsha.
J.O. Ejikeme, J.I. Igbokwe, N.G. Johnson and A.C. Chukwuocha, 2013. GIS as a Tool for Effective Management of Fire Disaster: A Case Study of Onitsha Metropolis in Anambra State of Nigeria. Research Journal of Applied Sciences, 8: 461-469.