延焼の一因“アーケードと路地”出雲市・明治から続く商店街　火災拡大の理由【報道ステーション】(2026年6月24日)

A fire broke out around 7:30 PM on the 23rd in the "Sunroad Nakamachi" arcade shopping street in Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture. The fire was contained and brought under control more than 10 hours after it started, at 5:45 AM on the 24th. Footage from what appears to be immediately after the fire started shows firefighters continuing to spray water inside the smoke-filled arcade. However, the fire showed no signs of subsiding. Views from a slightly elevated position the following morning reveal that the flames had spread to the residential area behind the shopping street. ■Why did the fire spread? Footage from the early morning of the 24th shows that water was being sprayed into the residential area using ladder trucks, reaching over buildings. This highlighted the unique difficulties of firefighting in this location. Izumo City Fire Department, Fire Chief Kenji Moriyama "In an area with many densely packed wooden houses, firefighting was difficult. The arcade roof also obstructed some firefighting efforts. The narrow alleys were the most challenging." The densely packed wooden buildings, the arcade, and the narrow alleys—the very structure of the long-established shopping street—made firefighting difficult. In this fire, more than a dozen buildings, including parts of the shopping street, burned down, and two firefighters were taken to the hospital after complaining of feeling unwell. ■The Rise and Fall of Sun Road Nakamachi, a Street Shared with Citizens The history of Sun Road Nakamachi is intertwined with the development of Izumo. In 1910, the 43rd year of the Meiji era, when the current Izumo City Station opened, people began to gather, and Sun Road Nakamachi took shape. With the arrival of the high-growth period, the shopping street also thrived. In 1961, the arcade was completed, and Sun Road Nakamachi became synonymous with shopping. That was apparently the daily life of Izumo residents. However, with the start of the Heisei era, the number of shops decreased to nearly a third of its peak. Many shops became noticeably closed. However, recently, there had been some gradual changes. Izumo resident: "The young people in the shopping district have been making all sorts of efforts, and I was surprised. More people are gathering now than when my children were small. They've been holding events, and things have improved." They wanted to regain the former vibrancy. The shopping district worked together, and just as their efforts were beginning to bear fruit, the fire struck. A man who had run a restaurant in Sunroad Nakamachi for about 40 years. Restaurant owner: "I was working when I heard, 'There's a fire!' At that time, the fire was quite far away. Suddenly, due to the wind or something, the fire came towards us. The firefighters and police urged us to evacuate quickly." The shop was completely destroyed. He can't immediately decide whether to rebuild. However, he says this about the future: Restaurant owner: "I don't know what to do next. I have no choice but to think positively." The chairman of the shopping street association also told reporters that he wants to hold the annual Saturday Night Market, a summer tradition held in August, as a step towards recovery, saying, "We absolutely want to hold it." ◆Shopping streets with densely packed shops and residences exist all over the country. How can fires be prevented? According to the Izumo City Fire Department, the fire started in a corner of a shop facing the shopping street's arcade. It then spread to shops and residences on the east and south sides, burning more than a dozen restaurants and other establishments, covering 3,400 square meters. Firefighting efforts were carried out from three directions. Water was sprayed from a height using a ladder truck from the main street. Water was sprayed from hoses inside the arcade. The street one block away from the arcade is only 2.2 meters wide, making it impossible for fire trucks to enter, so hoses were connected to spray water. Meanwhile, on the south side, houses were densely packed, and access was limited, making it impossible to spray water. The fire department stated, "Because the buildings were close together and the roads were narrow, water could only be sprayed from one side, which made it difficult to contain the fire. Also, because there were many wooden houses, the fire spread quickly, and the arcade roofs also obstructed water from reaching the buildings." According to the fire department, the fire was confirmed to be extinguished at 7:30 PM on the 24th, a full day after it started. ◆We spoke with Yasuo Sato, former head of the Tokyo Fire Department's Fire Prevention Division, who has participated in numerous firefighting operations. Mr. Sato said, "Normally, it is said that maintaining a distance of 3 meters on the first floor and 5 meters on the second floor between neighboring buildings reduces the risk of fire spreading. In the shopping street where the fire o...