Implications for Urban Safety Policy in Nigerian Markets: Material Combustibility, Passive Fire Protection, and Fire Spread

Abstract

Market fires pose a serious threat to urban safety in Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, resulting in significant financial losses, interruption of livelihoods, and damage to vital infrastructure. The extensive use of highly flammable building materials, insufficient passive fire protection measures, and lax enforcement of fire safety rules are all major contributors to the frequent occurrence of these disasters. In order to investigate the relationship between material combustibility, passive fire protection, and fire propagation, this study focuses on Makurdi marketplaces. A mixed-methods approach was used, which included laboratory testing of common market building materials, historical fire incident research, interviews with traders and fire safety officials, and field surveys of market structures. The findings show that while common materials like untreated wood, thermoplastics, and thin aluminum roofing sheets accelerate flame propagation, materials with inherent fire resistant qualities, such as gypsum boards, fire-rated concrete, and intumescent coatings, effectively slow fire spread. The lack of performance-based criteria for market buildings is one of the major gaps in Makurdi's application of Nigeria's National Fire Safety Code, according to the report. In order to increase Makurdi markets' resistance to fire dangers, these findings highlight the critical need for policy changes that incorporate material fire-resistivity criteria, improve passive fire protection, and bolster regulatory monitoring.