Keyword

Building fires, economic impact, property and response

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to measure the economic consequences of building fires in relation to the GDP of the City of Tshwane. Specifically, the research investigates the economic impact from the victim’s perspective on the cost of building fires. Design/ methodology/ approach – a quantitative research methodology was used where a standard questionnaire was distributed to 300 research participants identified from the City of Tshwane emergency services database system. Findings – The economic cost of building fires in the City of Tshwane has been determined to be 0, 16% of the GDP. Originality/value: This paper gives account of the victims’ perspective about their experience of fire. No other literature is known to have given such account.

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