Urban disaster : Victims of fire

ABSTRACT

If the premise of this chapter is accepted-that the recurrent fires in any large city constitute an urban disaster comparable to natural disaster-then adequate social provisions must be made for the victims.The demonstration project has emphasized environmental help plus a crisis service that encourages expression of feelings, gives reassurance, and supports such healthy ego defenses as control and mastery. A family-centered milieu has been created by an-site services and a mental health team. The program has often been at odds with local agency policies requiring conformity and encouraging passove dependence on regulations and repression of independent action. The multiplicity of approaches has included sytems analysis and concurrent political activity. The results of the project demonstrated to administrators in the public sector that a comprehensive program of disaster intervention could mobilize families to move more quickly and minimize aftershock (AU)