A multi-purpose tool for assessing wildfire vulnerability of buildings in Austria: from residential areas to industry, commerce, and tourism

Wildfires increasingly affect built environments in Austria, particularly in areas where settlements, infrastructure, and economic activities intersect with forested landscapes (the Wildland-Urban Interface, WUI). Buildings of different functions – ranging from residential housing to industrial facilities, commercial sites, and tourism infrastructure – exhibit diverse vulnerability patterns due to variations in construction, use, surrounding land cover, and the presence of combustible or hazardous materials. Addressing these differences requires a flexible and transferable assessment approach that goes beyond traditional building classifications.

This contribution presents a comprehensive assessment tool for evaluating wildfire vulnerability across a wide spectrum of building types in the Austrian context. The tool integrates structural characteristics (e.g. construction materials, roofs, openings), functional aspects related to building use (e.g. storage, production processes, visitor density), and environmental factors in the immediate surroundings, including vegetation, ground cover, and adjacent infrastructure. By combining these elements, the tool supports a differentiated yet harmonised analysis of wildfire vulnerability applicable to residential, industrial, commercial, and tourism-related buildings. The tool also distinguishes between crown fire, ground fire, and spotting to better capture fire-structure interactions and to reflect the specific vulnerability patterns associated with each wildfire type.

Designed with practical implementation in mind, the approach supports spatial comparison, identification of vulnerability hotspots, and prioritisation of mitigation measures at the local scale. The Austrian Wildland-Urban Interface serves as the primary application context, reflecting region-specific conditions such as alpine terrain, land-use patterns, and vegetation types.

Besides the tool, a secondary product of the project is a handbook for municipalities and local stakeholders, providing guidance on indicator selection, data collection, interpretation of results, and practical applications in planning, risk management, and prevention strategies. By translating scientific assessment methods into an operational tool, the study aims to support evidence-based decision-making and strengthen wildfire resilience across diverse building types in Austria.