Impact of urban fires in drainage systems: An experimental case study

Abstract

The number of existing studies on the effect of urban fires on drainage systems and treatment facilities is relatively scarce. However, as shown in this paper, the water runoff generated during an urban firefighting can impact these systems. The maximum flow capacity of sewers or other components of the drainage systems can be exceeded. Contaminated water resulting from the fire combat can also impact on subsequent treatment operations taking place at domestic sewage treatment facilities or wastewater treatment plants. Further environmental concerns may be raised if these runoffs are discharged without any treatment. In this paper, a case study is presented to assess the possible effects of urban firefighting on drainage systems and treatment facilities. For this, a simulation of a fire in a traditional Portuguese dwelling was carried out, collecting and analysing the water effluent resulting from the firefighting. Potential physicochemical and hydraulic impacts were discussed taking into account European and Portuguese context. With this work, the authors aimed to provide authorities with information that allows planning or implementation corrective interventions that may be necessary to mitigate potential impacts in the case of urban fires.