More About the Basics of Fire Prevention Laws and Regulations [Special Chapter]

The History of Fires and Firefighting in Japan and Six of its Major Cities [#3]

The History of Firefighting(Nagoya and Kyoto)“The History of Fires and Firefighting in Japan and Six of its Major Cities” is a compilation of the historyof ﬁres and ﬁreﬁghting in Japan and six of its major cities and related data from 1950 to 2020 intended tointroduce the state of ﬁres and ﬁreﬁghting in Japan to the rest of the world. The third installment of this seriesof special chapters will focus on Nagoya and Kyoto.

Kyōichi Kobayashi, Ph.D. (Engineering)

Professor, Center for Fire Science and Technology, Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science

5-3 Nagoya
1) The history of Nagoya
Nagoya is located 250 km west of Tokyo, roughly halfway between Tokyo and Kyoto. Nagoya has long flourished as atransportation hub, connecting east and west by both land and sea. With a current population of over 2.3 million, it is the fourthlargest city in Japan.
Nagoya was positioned as the center of the region in 1871, shortly after the establishment of modern Japan. Nagoya wasdeclared a city in 1889, with an area of 13.34 ㎢ and a population of approximately 157,000.
In 1891, the magnitude 8-class Nōbi earthquake hit Nagoya, causing extensive damage. The earthquake killed 7,273 people,injured 17,175, and destroyed a total of 142,177 houses in the region.
In the final stages of World War II, Nagoya was severely damaged in air raids by the U.S. Military. As a military industrial city,
Nagoya was subjected to more intense air raids than other major cities: by 1945, Nagoya was hit by 63 air raids, killing 7,858
people, injuring 10,378, and destroying 135,416 houses.
After the war, the Japanese government began a reconstruction project to rebuild Japanʼs major cities, which had been burned tothe ground. Among these, Nagoya became one of the most spectacularly reconstructed cities. Under the leadership of Jurō Tabuchi,
Nagoya succeeded in building an advanced city by formulating a reconstruction plan that went beyond what was common practicein Japan at the time, including 100 m-wide roads.
In 1959, Nagoya was hit by Isewan Typhoon (Typhoon Vera), with a minimum pressure of 895 hPa and a storm surge of 5.3 m,resulting in more than 5,000 deaths and missing persons throughout the region as a whole. In Nagoya alone, 1,851 people werekilled or went missing and 7,723 buildings were completely destroyed or washed away. The damage caused by this typhoon was
the largest in the history of typhoon damage in Japan.
The opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen in 1964 accelerated Nagoyaʼs economic development, and after holding the World Expoin 2005, Nagoya became even more of a global economic city.
Today, Nagoya is the regionʼs central city, with an urban area of 327 ㎢ and a population of 2.33 million.
(Reference materials: “The History of Nagoya”, City of Nagoya)2) The history of firefighting in Nagoya
In Nagoya, a large-scale urban fire in 1660 that destroyed 2,700 houses led to the establishment of a citizensʼ fire brigade in
1661, which was responsible for Nagoyaʼs firefighting activities for the next 200 years. With the establishment of modern Japan in
1868, the fire brigade was incorporated into the new system.
In 1910, a public fire brigade was established, consisting of a horse-drawn steam fire pump and 20 firefighters.
In 1919, the number of fire stations was increased to 2, and the number of firefighters to 54. Thereafter, the number of firestations was increased to 4 in 1939 and 13 in 1943, with one station in each ward.
The fire brigade purchased a fire pumper in 1914 and continued to promote the introduction of fire trucks and motorcycles forfirefighting. In 1916, a ladder truck (ladder length: 12 m) was introduced, and in 1935, a mechanical ladder truck equipped with apump (ladder length: 30 m) was added to accommodate the rising height of buildings.

17In 1934, the fire brigade began providing ambulance services.
After the war, firefighting was shifted to a new system administered by local governments, and in Nagoya, the Nagoya City Fire
Bureau was established in 1948 with 1,366 firefighters. Ambulance services resumed in 1949, followed by marine firefighting by
fireboat in 1950, and aerial firefighting by helicopter in 1973.
(Reference materials: “The History of Firefighting in Nagoya”, Nagoya City Fire Department)

3) Data on fires and fire service systems in Nagoya
Table 6 Key ﬁreﬁghting-related data for Nagoya (2020)

Population

2,328,138

Total Area

327㎢

Nagoya City Expenditures(based on the 2018 settlement of accounts)

JPY 1,195.2B(USD 10,865M)*

Firefighting expenses(based on the 2018 settlement of accounts)

JPY 26.7B(USD 243M)*

No. of public firefighters

2,403

No. of volunteer firefighters

5,362

No. of fire department (public)16

No. of Volunteer fire corps

268

Fire pumpers(including volunteer fire corps vehicles)

106

Ladder trucks

22Fire and disaster prevention helicopters

2Fire boats

2

Ambulances

61

Prepared based on the 2020 White Paper on Fire Service and the FY2018
Municipal Accounts Card.
*Converted at JPY 110 to USD 1 (exchange rate at the time of 2018)

Table 7 Major ﬁres in Nagoya (1868-2020)

Date

Buildings ordistricts wherethe fire occurred

No. ofburnedhouses

8/19/1951

Baseball stadium

3371

8/16/1983

Undergroundsubstationof subway

2

3

Fatalities

Injuries

Overview
Spectators panicked as they tried to evacuate andwere killed or injured when the crowd collapsed.
Five firefighters were killed or injured when they were engulfed insmoke and lost their way while attempting to put out the fire.

(Prepared based on “The Encyclopedia of Environment, Disasters and Accidents (published by Maruzen)”)㎢

1,000 people― Population (left axis)― Area (right axis)
Figure 18 Population and area of Nagoya (1950-2020)

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Number― Total― Buildings― Forests― Vehicles― Other

Figure 19 Number of ﬁres in Nagoya (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Annual Report”, FDMA)

people― Fatalities― Injuries

Figure 20 Fatalities and injuries from ﬁres in Nagoya (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Annual Report”, FDMA)
people― Public ﬁreﬁghters― Volunteer ﬁreﬁghters
Figure 21 Number of ﬁreﬁghters and volunteer ﬁreﬁghters in Nagoya (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Service Annual Report”, FDMA)

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Numberpumpers (including volunteer ﬁre corps)― Fire*Total of standard ﬁre pumpers and ﬁre pumpers withwater tanks― Ambulances

Figure 22 Number of ﬁre pumpers and ambulances in Nagoya (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Service Annual Report”, FDMA)

5-4 Kyoto1) The history of Kyoto
Kyoto is located 365 km west of Tokyo and was the capital of Japan for more than 1,000 years from 794 to 1868.
Kyoto was built 1,200 years ago on a land measuring 4.5 km east to west and 5.2 km north to south, surrounded by mountains
on three sides, based on a linear urban plan modeled after the ancient Chinese capital. In addition to the royal palace (Gosho)
where the emperor resided and the residences of the nobility, there were various government offices and many shrines andtemples. In the early 17th century, the political core of the city moved to Edo (present-day Tokyo), but Kyoto remained the capitalas well as the center of culture and religion, fostering a unique culture.
As in other large cities in Japan, all of the buildings in Kyoto were made from wood. Although there have been large-scale fires
in the city, and historical buildings such as famous shrines and temples have been destroyed by fire, many have been rebuilt eachtime and continue to stand to this day.
Toward the end of World War II, all other major cities in Japan were burned to the ground as a result of intense air raids by the U.S.
Military, but Kyoto was spared from the raids due to its historical and cultural value. Thanks to this, most of the cityʼs valuable
historical buildings have been preserved to this day, many of which are listed as World Heritage Sites.
Kyoto, with a population of over 1.4 million, has today become an international tourist destination, attracting more than 50
million tourists a year from both Japan and abroad.
(Reference materials: “The History of Kyoto”, Kyoto School Trip Guide)2) The history of firefighting in Kyoto
It is not known when the first fire defense organization was established in Kyoto, but by the 17th century there existed a publicprivate fire defense organization. The main role of the public fire brigade was to protect the Imperial Palace from fire, while
private fire brigades, comprised of firefighters that were hired by civic organizations in each neighborhood, extinguished fires incooperation with the public fire brigade.
In 1722, the private fire brigades were replaced by a system in which the citizens of each neighborhood organized their own firebrigades and the town hall managed them. In 1779, the public fire brigades were also changed to a system in which a professionalcommander from the town hall commanded hired firefighters.
After the establishment of modern Japan in 1868, the fire defense organization was incorporated into the police force, andseveral organizational reforms were implemented.
Based on the standards set by the Japanese government in 1894, 7 fire stations were established in Kyoto with 614 firemen and24 man-powered fire pumps. Steam fire pumps were first deployed in 1901, and by 1912 all fire stations had one.
After World War II, each municipality assumed responsibility for firefighting activities. The Kyoto City Fire Department
was created in 1948, and initially consisted of 6 fire stations, 1,200 public firefighters, 86 fire engines, 5 ambulances, and 4,800
volunteer firefighters.

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Since then, the Kyoto City Fire Department has been strengthened as the cityʼs size, population, and economy have grown(Reference materials: “Kyoto Firefighting History Museum”, Kyoto City Fire Department)

3) Data on fires and fire service systems in Kyoto
Table 8 Key ﬁreﬁghting-related data for Kyoto (2020)

Population

1,400,720

Total Area

828㎢

Kyoto City Expenditures(based on the 2018 settlement of accounts)

JPY 765.9B(USD 6,963M)*

Firefighting expenses(based on the 2018 settlement of accounts)

JPY 20.5B(USD 186M)*

No. of public firefighters

1,797

No. of volunteer firefighters

4,503

No. of fire department (public)

11

No. of Volunteer fire corps

11

Fire pumpers(including volunteer fire corps vehicles)82

Ladder trucks

16

Fire and disaster prevention helicopters

2Fire boats

0

Ambulances

50

Prepared based on the 2020 White Paper on Fire Service and the FY2018
Municipal Accounts Card.
*Converted at JPY 110 to USD 1 (exchange rate at the time of 2018)

Table 9 Major ﬁres in Kyoto (1868-2020)

Date

Buildings ordistricts wherethe fire occurred

No. ofburnedhouses

Fatalities

Injuries

Overview“Nanzenji” burned down.

1/12/1895

Shrine

4/13/1902

Hospital

16

Fire in a psychiatric hospital

9/21/1934

Junior highschool

30

Fire caused by a typhoon

7/2/1950

ShrineThe National Treasure “Kinkakuji” burned down.

(Prepared based on “The Encyclopedia of Environment, Disasters and Accidents (published by Maruzen)”)― Population (1,000 people)― Area (㎢)

Figure 23 Population and area of Kyoto (1950-2020)21

Number― Total― Buildings― Forests― Vehicles― OtherFigure 24 Number of ﬁres in Kyoto (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Annual Report”, FDMA)

people― Fatalities― Injuries

Figure 25 Fatalities and injuries from ﬁres in Kyoto (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Annual Report”, FDMA)
people― Public ﬁreﬁghters― Volunteer ﬁreﬁghters

Figure 26 Number of ﬁreﬁghters and volunteer ﬁreﬁghters in Kyoto(1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Service Annual Report”, FDMA)

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Numberpumpers (including volunteer ﬁre corps)― Fire*Total of standard ﬁre pumpers and ﬁre pumpers withwater tanks― Ambulances
Figure 27 Number of ﬁre pumpers and ambulances in Kyoto (1950-2020)(Prepared based on “The Fire Service Annual Report”, FDMA)

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