-
Chapter 6: Encountering Risk: Fire and Reconstruction of Residence and Communities
- NUS Press Pte Ltd
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Encountering Risk: Fire and Reconstruction 157 157 Chapter 6 encountering risk: Fire and reconstruction of residence and Communities The fire that struck inner-city community S in April of 2004 caused serious damage and resulted in the complete or partial destruction of 713 out of 814 residences. This obliteration of individual homes and community spaces occurred in only an hour-and-a-half. After the fire, the process of recovery was plagued with continuous confusion over the securing of temporary housing for residents, the re-establishment of their lives, and the coordination of plans to build permanent housing. In particular, the effort to build permanent housing caused the community to divide into two opposing camps backing two different support plans proposed by the government. Yet, despite the long and difficult recovery process, during which the future, at many points, was uncertain, the majority of residents remained in the neighbourhood and exhibited a strong desire and commitment to rebuilding the community in the firedevastated space. Fires are one of the most feared risks from the standpoint of the urban lower class. Not only does the dense arrangement of residences increase the risk of fire, conflict over use of the land often results in arson. While fires are understood to be a latent, everyday risk, the magnitude of impact of fire in a community is incalculable. To understand the loss of community space and the dynamic process that marks efforts to recover such space is to reaffirm the significance and function of community from the perspective of the urban lower class. In this chapter, I focus on the fire and the subsequent reconstruction process experienced in inner-city community S, in terms of “residence”. Relying upon household survey and interviews that were conducted in September 2005, a year and a half after the fire, I examine encounters with the risk represented by fire and the process by which community residents responded 158 Living with Risk to such risk. The dynamic analysis of the rehabilitation process enriches the understanding of residential function discussed in the previous chapter but also clarifies the multiple functions of a community. Impacts of the Fire: Changes in Household Welfare Answers to the questionnaire survey (valid responses from 369 households ) conducted a year and a half after the fire show that among the responding households of inner-city community S, 281 experienced complete loss, 41 experienced partial loss, and 47 experienced no loss of residence as a result of the fire. Prior to the fire, 271 households (73 per cent) were owner occupants of their own houses, while 13 resided in rented houses, 44 resided in rented rooms, and 41 resided with others, either as rent-paying or non-rent-paying co-residents. A closer look at the change in income level of the 321 households that experienced some level of loss of residence as a result of the fire (excluding those who were not affected by the fire) assists us in assessing the direct damage caused by the fire.1 The sample comprised 211 male 1 The “household” here is the unit of co-residing members during the survey period. The houses of 47 households did not burn by fire, but the total here (321) represents the remaining households with the exception of one household for which the responses were not sufficiently complete. table 6-1. Impacts of the Fire (unit: % or baht) Monthly income of Change in income Household income head of household Decrease 52.0 31.2 No impact 40.2 57.3 Increase 7.2 10.9 Total 100.0 100.0 Average income reduction (baht) 3,846 Average income (baht) after the fire 13,109 7,608 Note: This table was compiled based on 321 households responding to the questionnaire survey that experienced complete or partial loss of residence as a result of the fire. The income reduction represents the average for households that experienced income reduction. Source: Made by the author based on questionnaire survey responses. [52.55.55.239] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 16:50 GMT) Encountering Risk: Fire and Reconstruction 159 and 110 female heads of household, as defined by household members themselves.2 Average household income a year and a half after the fire was 13,109 baht (Table 6-1). Fifty-two per cent of the households experienced a reduction in income level after the fire. In addition, 31.2 per cent of the households experienced a reduction in monthly income of the head of household, with an...