Fire alleys in Finnish urban design

Abstract

Until the late-nineteenth century fire safety was considered the greatest problem in Finnish wooden towns. At first, masonry buildings were believed to be the solution and greater spaciousness was emphasized for aesthetic reasons. Later, spaciousness was recognized as improving fire safety. The practical goal was to extinguish fires; only later came fire protection through the creation of openings in the urban fabric that were wide enough to prevent fire from spreading. In the first phase streets were widened. In the late-eighteenth century there arose a need to diminish the likelihood of fires and also for experimentation with new methods of making urban structures more spacious. The first fire alleys were planned in the new town of Kuopio. They were an attempt to create in the street-block interior public or semi-public space. In old towns the only feasible solution was narrow fire alleys. They could not prevent fire from spreading, but they made it possible to penetrate into seats of fire in the street-block interior. A new street-block type emerged when the idea of fire alleys was combined with the awareness that deciduous trees could slow down or even stop a fire: one side of the plot was left without buildings to make it possible to plant deciduous trees. In its final form the street block was proposed by the inhabitants and can be regarded as a Finnish invention.