Keeping Indoor Air Clean from Smoke During Big Fires in Downtown Areas

Abstract

Smoke emitted from city fires taking a long time to suppress affects indoor air quality (IAQ) of adjacent residential areas. Several such big fires occurred in downtown Hong Kong including the one with vast amount of smoke emitted for 15 hours from a ship fire in harbour, June 2022. Portable air cleaners might be a solution for big houses with storage space for such equipment in countryside. However, in Asia-Oceania dense urban areas with small residential buildings and even subdivided units, residents have no space to store the portable cleaners. Further, their effectiveness in those crowded spaces to watch. For gathering areas in crowded spaces, operating the dynamic smoke control system, if available, could be a solution.