Assessment of Urban Fire Risk Coverage and Accessibility through a Network and Spatial GIS Analysis of the Distribution of Fire Stations Case Study ( Irbid City – Jordan)

This research addresses the growing demand for enhanced urban fire risk management in Irbid city, Jordan, which has seen significant population growth due to rural-urban migration and the influx of refugees from Syria. As urban expansion heightens fire risks, effective spatial planning for emergency response infrastructure becomes crucial. The study proposes a comprehensive model for urban fire risk mapping at the city scale, employing an integrated approach that combines Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Network Analysis, GIS Spatial Analysis, and Simple Additive Weighting (SAW). These methodologies are applied to evaluate and optimize the spatial distribution of fire stations across Irbid. The model incorporates six key components critical to fire risk assessment: population density, historical fire incident data, land-use patterns, adjacency of buildings, vertical building density, and accessibility. By leveraging these variables, the model aims to provide a nuanced analysis of urban fire risks. It also addresses limitations related to time constraints, challenges in accessing high-quality data, and difficulties in accurately representing population density variations across small geographical distances. The findings of the study, based on a classification system dividing the city into nine fire risk categories, suggest that new fire stations should be strategically located in densely built-up, central areas, rather than in peripheral zones. This spatial prioritization is designed to enhance emergency response coverage and mitigate fire hazards more effectively. The research contributes to urban planning by offering a data-driven framework that supports decision-makers in optimizing fire station placement, thereby improving overall fire risk management in Irbid.