Fire

Primary reference(s)

WHO, no date. Health Topics – Chemical Incidents World Health Organization (WHO). Accessed 13 February 2025.

Annotations

Key relevant UN convention / multilateral treaty

A globally agreed treaty was not identified.

Regional Directive: Europe example: Directive 2012/18/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances, amending and subsequently repealing Council Directive 96/82/EC Text with EEA relevance, Applies to European Commission Member States (European Parliament and Council, 2012). In Europe, the catastrophic accident in the Italian town of Seveso in 1976 prompted the adoption of legislation on the prevention and control of such accidents. The so-called Seveso

Drivers

 Fire has a complex multi-hazard context, resulting from various natural hazards and human-induced risks. For example, lightning and volcanic eruptions can trigger wildfires and fires in urban areas. Some fires may be driven by and / or involve flammable chemicals such as methanol (CH0603), and benzene and other hydrocarbons (CH0203). Fires may also result from explosions and occur during conflicts. 

Impacts

Fire damage to buildings, especially ones with cladding, release toxic chemicals and smoke that affect people’s health. Some individuals and sub-populations can also be at increased risk because they are more susceptible to the adverse effects of a given exposure. Among the potential causes of enhanced susceptibility are inherent genetic variability, age, gender, pre-existing disease (e.g., diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), inadequate diet, occupational, environmental or lifestyle factors (e.g., smoking), stress and inadequate access to health care (WHO, no date). 

In most cases the mechanisms and health outcomes of exposure are unknown. Symptoms may present differently depending upon the products of combustion and chemicals and other materials involved in the fire. In general, the adverse health outcomes of toxic chemical exposure may be: 

• Effects that are local or arise at the site of contact with the products of combustion and chemicals, such as bronchoconstriction from respiratory irritants, or irritation of the skin and eyes by gases, liquids and solids (e.g., toxic gases, asphyxiant gases, carcinogens, dusts).
• Effects that are systemic or affect organ systems remote from the site of absorption, such as depression of the central nervous system from inhalation of solvents, or necrosis of the liver from the inhalation of carbon tetrachloride.
• Effects on mental health arising from real or perceived releases, which depend on the psychosocial stress associated with an incident.
• The time elapsing between exposure and the onset of symptoms can vary:
• Some effects, for example, eye and respiratory irritation or central nervous system depression, can occur rapidly, within minutes or hours of exposure (acute effects).
• Other effects, for example, congenital malformations or cancers, may take months or years to appear (delayed effects). 

The duration of the symptoms can also vary, from short-term, to long-term or chronic. Chemical incidents (especially acts of terrorism) may also cause fear and anxiety in populations (WHO, no date). 

Multi-hazard context

The figure below summarises common interactions between fire and other hazards. This information should be used with caution and not be solely relied upon in Disaster Risk Management, particularly as some interactions may not have been included. Note that hazardous events occurring together or locally in space or time may not necessarily cause, amplify, or be otherwise related to each other. Specific examples of multi-hazard context can be found in the ‘Hazard drivers’ and ‘Impacts’ sections above.

Multi-hazard diagram

Risk Management

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that risk management measures include: being aware of explosive-related hazards; locating chemical sites away from centres of population; the registration of all chemicals in commercial establishments with a hazard inventory to ensure rapid identification of the released chemical; regular evaluation of plans and their implementation; inspection/monitoring and enforcement of safety measures; reducing the amounts of chemicals stored; appropriate labelling of all chemicals; rapid notification of the chemical incident to emergency services in the event of a chemical release; regular surveillance and standardised reporting of incidents, including the small, commonly occurring incidents ones; measures to decontaminate land or water already contaminated by waste disposal; measures to prevent or contain any fire-fighting water run-off; and construction of drainage ditches or holding tanks to contain liquid chemicals (WHO, no date). 

In any chemical incident, there are a number of essential steps to go through as part of the fire- related chemical incident plan. These are in approximate chronological order: alerting the health care services; best outcome assessment of actions and management options; environmental monitoring; public information and public warnings; advice on protection; sheltering or evacuation; other interventions to protect public health; and organising registers and samples. 

Preparedness: Careful planning and thorough preparedness are prerequisites for an effective response to chemical incidents. Public authorities, at all levels, and the management staff of installations where hazardous chemicals are produced, stored etc. should establish emergency preparedness plans. All responsible parties should ensure that manpower, equipment, and financial and other resources necessary to carry out emergency plans are readily available for immediate activation in the event, or imminent threat of an accident. All personnel involved in the emergency response process should be adequately educated and trained.  

Response: Depending on the level of potential exposure, risk zones are usually established around an incident: 

• The hot zone is the area where first responders must use protective equipment to prevent primary contamination (National CBRN Centre, 2016).
• The warm zone, which surrounds the hot zone, is the area where appropriate personal protective equipment must be worn to prevent secondary contamination.
• The cold zone is the uncontaminated area between the inner cordon and the outer cordon where it has been assessed that there is no immediate threat to life.
• The decontamination line separates the warm from the cold zone. 

A vulnerable zone (in effect a potential hot zone) can be declared, which is the area likely to be contaminated if the emergency response action is not successful. The population within the vulnerable zone includes the resident population as well as the working population (in the plant and in the area), and other populations in the area at certain times, such as motorists, tourists and visitors to entertainment facilities. The nearest Poisons Centre should be contacted in case advice on diagnoses and treatment of chemical poisonings is needed. 

To set up a public health team which, in case of a fire- related chemical incident, will provide accident and emergency departments with information about the nature of the chemicals(s), any precautions to be taken, and information about secondary contamination and how to decontaminate causalities, staff and equipment. Further details and guidance can be found in the WHO Manual: The Public Health Management of Chemical Incidents (WHO, 2009). 

Designed to help manage the recovery phase of a chemical incident where contamination has affected food production systems, inhabited areas and water environments, further information can be found in the UK Recovery Handbook for Chemical Incidents (PHE, 2020). 

The WHO works closely with countries and partners to monitor and report on their emergency preparedness capacities for all hazards, including chemical incidents. Surveillance of diseases of possible chemical aetiology is a daily element in WHO’s outbreak alert and response activities (WHO, no date). The WHO also convenes regional meetings to strengthen the global network of poison centres and thus facilitate emergency responses to chemical incidents. Guidance and training materials to strengthen preparedness for chemical incidents and emergencies have been developed in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals, and relevant organisations in the United Nations system (WHO, no date). Additional resources include the WHO human health risk assessment toolkit for chemical hazards (WHO, ILO & UNEP, 2011) and the guidance document on evaluating and expressing uncertainty in hazard characterisation (WHO & IPCS, 2018). 

Monitoring

The section and the table below offer an overview of monitoring fire. This information can be used for forecasting within a national early warning system (EWS). Since EWS capacities and processes differ across countries, the most current and specific information regarding EWS should be obtained from the appropriate national or regional agency/authority responsible for disaster management.