Fire Safety in Informal Settlements: A Gendered Framework of Fire Justice

People living in informal settlements, whether in urban or tented environments, face daily risks of injury and loss of life or property due to preventable fires. Currently, research and practice in the field of fire risk and prevention within informal settlements centres on technical interventions and solutions. While developments in materials, response and urban planning, for example, are an important aspect of reducing the effects of fire, the gendered framework for fire justice presented in this paper challenges the dominance of such technical solutions which neglect social dimensions of vulnerability to fire risk. Rethinking fire risk through gender can ensure strategies and systems of fire safety are situated, and informed by the range of people who experience fire and burns risk. The multidisciplinary framework engages with critical feminist approaches to disaster, vulnerability analysis and education, arguing for a gendered framework of fire justice that presents new possibilities for how fire risk and safety are understood and responded to by the range of stakeholders and actors who seek to reduce the instances and impact of fire on already marginalised populations, including those living in informal settlements.