What this lesson teaches
I can explain the causes and consequences of fire, air pollution and traffic hazards in a neighbourhood.
Syllabus K226, Topic 1.2, Key Question 3. What are common hazards in urban neighbourhoods?
Make a guess
A pot is left cooking while the owner naps. Shoe racks fill the corridor outside. What makes this situation more dangerous?
- The blocked corridor, as escape gets harder.
- The shoe racks will start the fire themselves.
- Nothing, because a fire has not started yet.
- The pot matters; the corridor is a separate issue for the town council.
Show the answer
The blocked corridor, as escape gets harder.
Unattended cooking can start a fire, and items in an escape route make it harder to get out. That raises the harm the fire can cause.
A hazard can cause harm, but how much harm depends on who is exposed and how vulnerable they are.
A hazard is a possible source of harm. How much harm it causes depends on who or what is exposed to it, and how vulnerable they are. Exposure means being within the hazard's reach. Vulnerability means being more likely to be harmed, for example because it is hard for someone to leave a building.
Fires can start from faulty appliances, damaged wiring or unattended cooking. Flames cause burns and damage homes, and smoke harms breathing. Items blocking an escape route make it harder to get out, which increases the harm.
Air pollution comes from burning vegetation, industry and vehicles. Breathing harmful pollutants can cause respiratory illness and cardiovascular disease, which affects the heart and blood vessels. Long exposure to some pollutants raises the risk of lung cancer. Pollution can come from nearby or far away, and can be invisible. A photograph cannot measure how much there is.
Traffic hazards include speeding, running red lights and drink driving. These make crashes more likely or more serious. Pedestrians, cyclists and passengers may be injured or killed. A busy road alone does not prove what caused a particular crash; you need evidence about behaviour and road conditions.
- Hazard
- Something that could cause harm.
- Fire causes
- Faulty electrics and unattended cooking.
- Traffic causes
- Speeding, red-light running and drink driving.
Step by step
Cause
Name the process or behaviour.
Exposure and vulnerability
Who is in reach, and who is more at risk?
Consequence
Explain the harm to health, property or services.
Real examples to use
Orchard Road floods, 2010
Heavy rain flooded shops and basements at Liat Towers, showing how intense storms can overwhelm drains in a built-up area.
Worked example: Why speeding makes a crossing dangerous
A speeding car reaches a crossing sooner than people expect. The driver has less time to stop, so a crash is more likely. Older people who cross slowly spend longer in its path.
Watch out for this
A hazard and a disaster are the same thing.
A hazard could cause harm. A disaster is serious disruption when a hazard actually hits exposed, vulnerable people.
Check your understanding
Which statement gives a complete hazard chain?
- A road is long, so its length is what causes the crashes that happen on it.
- Unattended cooking starts a fire, and smoke harms neighbours.
- A neighbourhood has many tall buildings, so it is a disaster waiting to happen.
Show the answer
Unattended cooking starts a fire, and smoke harms neighbours.
Yes. It names the cause, who is exposed and the harm.