Mapeamento e caracterização dos incêndios com vítimas em Belo Horizonte

Resumo

Objective - this research investigated the profile of fire victims in the city of Belo Horizonte, geographical indicators of the location of the incident, and the construction, use, and occupancy characteristics of the buildings.

Methodology - All urban fire responses in the city of Belo Horizonte in the period from 2021 to 2022 were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Those that had victims (injured and fatal) were dissected and these data were compared with those found in international studies.

Originality – The patterns of fires that cause casualties in Brazil, especially in large cities, are little known and discussed. The current study sheds light on incidents in Belo Horizonte, one of the largest Brazilian cities, from an unprecedented perspective.

Results – It was found that 1,371 fires were recorded in buildings, about 62.14% (852) of which occurred in residential buildings, of which 76.41% (651) were in single-family homes. There were 133 fires in buildings in the city that resulted in injuries or deaths. There is a prevalence of fires with injuries occurring in residential buildings (single-family and multi-family), corresponding to 89.47% (119). When comparing the records of fire victims from CBMMG and DATASUS, it can be seen that if all those injured and treated by CBMMG were admitted to the hospital network, this would represent about 33% of the total hospitalizations recorded in DATASUS. Regarding the gender of the victims, there is a slight difference, with men accounting for about 53% (88) of the cases.

Theoretical/methodological contributions – one of the contributions of this research is to establish an overview of fires that cause deaths and injuries in Belo Horizonte, providing relevant data for public policies and urban development in an effective manner that can be replicated in other municipalities.

Social and environmental contributions – identifying the main interrelationships between fires that cause victims in large cities, such as Belo Horizonte, is an important contribution to city management and the preservation of a society's most valuable asset, the lives and integrity of its citizens.