SimCity 4/Fire Safety

As in any real-life city, fires may randomly occur in a SimCity 4 city. If the fire is not extinguished in time, it can burn down an entire neighborhood. The rubble of a destroyed building has a strong negative effect on desirability, so it should generally be demolished as soon as possible.

To prevent fires from occuring, fire stations can be built in the city. An area not covered by a fire station has a higher chance of catching fire; as well, lack of water and abandonment also increase the chances of a fire occuring. The Smoke Detector Program, when enacted in the Ordinances menu, helps in reducing the chance of fire.

As industrial buildings are in general more flammable, these should get priority in fire station coverage. The Power Plant should also get fire station coverage, if only for the risk of an explosion occuring and taking your city with it.

Besides preventing fire, the fire stations are also used to extinguish a fire that has already started. This is done by dispatching fire trucks from the Dispatch menu. You need to make sure the fire trucks can reach the building though, i. e. it needs road access and the fire station needs to be connected to the road network, otherwise any attempts will be of no avail.

The following fire stations are available:

The Small Fire Station has a single fire truck to dispatch. The Large Fire Station has two, it also has roughly 1.5 times the range of the Small Fire Station.

Fire stations can be underfunded, but it is not generally desirable as it may cause strikes and also reduces their effectiveness in distinguishing fires.