Tokyo fire service

NFPA Journal, May/Jun 2002 by Laitinen, Denise

In Tokyo, the low fire rate is a testament to a well-trained fire department and its citizens. III DENISE LAITINEN

THE TOKYO FIRE DEPARTMENT (TFD) has come a long way from the Edo period (1603 to 1867), when fires were put out by demolishing the burning building. Back then, the samurai acted as firefighters, and their wives wore red coats to stand out in the crowd and help evacuate people. Today, the fire department is the largest in the world, with 17,993 employees and a budget of US$2 billion (244 billion yen for fiscal year 2001.) Some 1,839 pieces of apparatus, including 20 firefighting motorcycles, are housed in 80 fire stations throughout Tokyo, which is composed of 23 wards, called "ku," 24 surrounding cities, 3 towns, and a village.

For a city of 12 million residents, or 10 percent of the entire Japanese population, Tokyo has a remarkably low fire rate. There are roughly 19 fires of various types and origin every day, or approximately 6,933 a year. In 2001, 4,044 of these were structure fires.

Although buildings in Tokyo are typically five to seven stories high, there is tremendous interest in building Tokyo up instead of out. As a result, the city has become a hodgepodge of soaring skyscrapers, high-rises, and one-- and two-story dwellings. And with land at a premium, it's increasingly common for highrises to be multi-use buildings.

In the Shinjuku section of Tokyo, for instance, the lower floors of a 45-story highrise contain restaurants, while several upper floors contain offices. On the 19th floor is a hotel lobby.

Among the companies investing millions in new multi-use buildings is Misawa Homes, which is spending $1.5 billion to develop twin 60-story towers containing offices and condominium.s. Minori Mori, the biggest landlord in Tokyo with 88 buildings, plans to complete 17 new office buildings in central Tokyo in the next three years. The largest of the Mori Building Company projects is Roppongi Hills, a $2.1 billion office, cultural, and residential complex. Mori and other developers are betting that childless couples, the largest growing segment of Japan's population, will prefer to live in multi-use high-rises close to work and attractions than in the suburbs.

Keeping buildings safe

One of the major codes that govern buildings in Tokyo is the Building Safety Law, managed by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry and enforced in Tokyo by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The other is the Fire Service Law, which has applied nationwide since 1948.

According to the Fire Service Law, a highrise is a building 101 feet (31 meters) high-the length to which a typical fire department ladder extends-or higher. A building 101 feet (31 meters) tall is about 11 stories, and the Fire Service Law stipulates that buildings 11 stories or higher must be sprinklered. Office buildings, factories, apartment houses, schools, and warehouses 11 stories or less need not be sprinklered. However, fire prevention ordinances in Tokyo require sprinklers in buildings not governed by the Fire Service Law, including those with basements, windowless floors, and others.

Buildings 11 stories or higher must have

emergency public address systems and emergency power outlets for firefighter operations. Automatic detection systems are required for high-rises above 11 stories, as well as lower, smaller buildings.

Multi-use buildings in Tokyo use three types of automatic detection systems: heat detectors, smoke detectors, and flame detectors, which sound alarms to alert occupants and send a signal to a safety center control room in the building.

Workplace managers are required to form private fire brigades depending on the square footage and occupancy capacity. Movie theaters, for example, including those in high-rise shopping centers, must have fire brigades if they're 107,642 square feet (10,000 square meters) or larger, or if they can hold 2,000 or more people. Multi-use buildings that cover 1,858 square feet (20,000 square meters) or more must also have a private fire brigade, the size of which is determined by the building's size. Japanese building codes are strict when it comes to protecting multi-use structures from fire, since they house different types of occupancies and a large number of unspecified people.

According to the Fire Service Law and the Building Standard Law, the authority to approve or disapprove construction in Tokyo lies with the city building supervisor or designated inspection specialist who must get consent from the Tokyo Fire Chief or one of the local station chiefs before he or she gives the owners) permission to build. Houses, built in unzoned areas, such as the suburbs, are exempt from this rule.

Even flame-retardant products inside multi-use buildings are regulated. According to Fire Service Law Article 8-3, high-rises, including the offices and residential units within them, and buildings used by a large number of unspecified people are required to have flame retardant items, such as curtains and carpets above the level set by the Cabinet Order. Officially approved "flame retardant materials" are marked by a white label with red "flame retardant" letters.