Towards a Fire Safety Framework in Informal Settlements in Costa Rica

This investigation develops a provisional understanding of fires in informal settlements in Costa Rica. This is achieved by analyzing previous fires and observing how the population behaved. One of the case studies is the El Pochote informal settlement fire, where it was possible to analyze the fire dynamics, the reaction of the inhabitants against the fire, how the first responders faced the fire and the working relationship between inhabitants and first responders. Then, a comparison between four informal settlements of different sizes will be performed in order to characterize their physical features and understand if the differences result in different behaviours of the population when facing fire events. The research includes a comparison on how Costa Rica and Canada manage their housing issues and analyzes what both countries can learn from each other. The thesis concludes with a test methodology for assessing materials that may be proposed in these settlements.