Fire | Special Issue : Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas

Editorial

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4 pages, 193 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas—First Edition

by Tiago Miguel Ferreira

Fire 2023, 6(12), 454; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6120454 - 28 Nov 2023

Viewed by 3439

Abstract

Fire safety within residential buildings and urban environments continues to be a pressing global concern, demanding dynamic and comprehensive strategies for effective risk assessment and mitigation [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas — 1st Edition)

Research

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26 pages, 2645 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Cold Climate Wooden Home and Conflagration Danger Index: Justification and Practicability for Norwegian Conditions

by Ruben Dobler Strand and Torgrim Log

Fire 2023, 6(10), 377; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6100377 - 30 Sep 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1605

Abstract

The vast majority of fire-related deaths occur in residential buildings. Until recently, the fire risk for these buildings was only considered through static risk assessments or period-based assessments applying to certain periods of the year, e.g., Christmas holidays. However, for homes with indoor [...] Read more.

The vast majority of fire-related deaths occur in residential buildings. Until recently, the fire risk for these buildings was only considered through static risk assessments or period-based assessments applying to certain periods of the year, e.g., Christmas holidays. However, for homes with indoor wooden panelling, especially in the ceiling, a dynamic fire danger indicator can be predicted for cold climate regions. Recognising the effect of fuel moisture content (FMC) of indoor wooden panelling on the enclosure fire development allows for the prediction of a wooden home fire danger indicator. In the present study, dry wood fire dynamics are analysed and experimental observations are reported to support in-home wooden panel FMC as a suitable wooden home fire danger indicator. Then, from previous work, the main equation for modelling in-home FMC is considered and a generic enclosure for FMC modelling is justified based on literature data and supported through a sensitivity study for Norwegian wooden homes. Further, ten years of weather data for three selected locations in Norway, i.e., a coastal town, an inland fjord town and a mountain town, were analysed using a three-dimensional risk matrix to assess the usability of the fire risk modelling results. Finally, a cold climate wooden home fire danger index was introduced to demonstrate how the risk concept can be communicated in an intuitive way using similar gradings as the existing national forest fire index. Based on the generic enclosure, the findings support FMC as a fire risk indicator for homes with interior wooden panelling (walls and ceiling). Large differences in the number of days with arid in-home conditions were identified for the selected towns. The number of days with combined strong wind and dry wooden homes appears to depend more on the number of days with strong wind than days of in-home drought. Thus, the coastal town was more susceptible to conflagrations than the drier inland towns. This aligns well with the most significant fire disasters in Norway since 1900. In addition, it was demonstrated that the number of high-risk periods is manageable and can be addressed by local fire departments through proactive measures. In turn, the fire risk modelling and associated index respond well to the recent changes in Norwegian regulations, requiring the fire departments to have systems for detecting increased risk levels. Testing the modelling for a severe winter fire in the USA indicates that the presented approach may be of value elsewhere as well. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas — 1st Edition)

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13 pages, 2808 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research and Application of Improved Multiple Imputation Based on R Language in Fire Prediction

by Jie Wang, Meilin Yang, Tianming Li, Xuepeng Jiang and Kaihua Lu

Fire 2023, 6(6), 235; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6060235 - 13 Jun 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1307

Abstract

An improved multiple imputation based on R language is proposed to deal with the miss of data in a fire prediction model, which can affect the accuracy of the prediction results. Hazard and operability (HAZOP) is used to accurately find the data related [...] Read more.

An improved multiple imputation based on R language is proposed to deal with the miss of data in a fire prediction model, which can affect the accuracy of the prediction results. Hazard and operability (HAZOP) is used to accurately find the data related to the research purpose, and exclude data with a missing rate greater than 80% and small differences in characteristics. Then, by changing the m value in the mice package under the R language (R-mice), the relevant parameters of the complete filling factor set under different m values are obtained. The value of m is determined after observing and comparing the parameters. The proposed method fully considers the randomness of filling and the difference between the generated dataset. Taking Hubei Province as an example, the data processed by this method are used as the input of the Bayesian network, and the fire trend is used as the output. The results show that the improved multiple imputation based on R-mice can solve the problem of missing data very well, and have a high prediction effect (AUC = 94.0800). In addition, the results of the predictive reasoning and sensitivity analysis show that the government’s supervision has a vital influence on the trend of fires in Hubei Province. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas — 1st Edition)

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18 pages, 3659 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modelling and Mapping Urban Vulnerability Index against Potential Structural Fire-Related Risks: An Integrated GIS-MCDM Approach

by Sepideh Noori, Alireza Mohammadi, Tiago Miguel Ferreira, Ata Ghaffari Gilandeh and Seyed Jamal Mirahmadzadeh Ardabili

Fire 2023, 6(3), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6030107 - 8 Mar 2023

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4594

Abstract

Identifying the regions with urban vulnerability to potential fire hazards is crucial for designing effective risk mitigation and fire prevention strategies. The present study aims to identify urban areas at risk of fire using 19 evaluation factors across economic, social, and built environment-infrastructure, [...] Read more.

Identifying the regions with urban vulnerability to potential fire hazards is crucial for designing effective risk mitigation and fire prevention strategies. The present study aims to identify urban areas at risk of fire using 19 evaluation factors across economic, social, and built environment-infrastructure, and prior fire rates dimensions. The methods for “multi-criteria decision making” (MCDM) include the Analytic Hierarchy Process for determining the criteria’s importance and weight of the criteria. To demonstrate the applicability of this approach, an urban vulnerability index map of Ardabil city in Iran was created using the Fuzzy-VIKOR approach in a Geographic Information System (GIS). According to the findings, about 9.37 km² (31%) of the city, involving roughly 179,000 people, presents a high or very high level of risk. Together with some neighbourhoods with low socioeconomic and environmental conditions, the city centre is the area where the level of risk is more significant. These findings are potentially very meaningful for decision-makers and authorities, providing information that can be used to support decision-making and the implementation of fire risk mitigation strategies in Ardabil city. The results of this research can be used to improve policy, allocate resources, and renew urban areas, including the reconstruction of old, worn-out, and low-income urban areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas — 1st Edition)

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22 pages, 8819 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Interlayer Materials on Fire Performance of Laminated Glass Used in High-Rise Building: Cone Calorimeter Testing

by Md Kamrul Hassan, Md Rayhan Hasnat, Kai Png Loh, Md Delwar Hossain, Payam Rahnamayiezekavat, Grahame Douglas and Swapan Saha

Fire 2023, 6(3), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6030084 - 22 Feb 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3099

Abstract

Laminated glass is prominently used nowadays as building construction material in the façade and architectural glazing of high-rise buildings. On the other hand, the fire safety of the high-rise building with laminated glass is also receiving more attention from the fire safety regulatory [...] Read more.

Laminated glass is prominently used nowadays as building construction material in the façade and architectural glazing of high-rise buildings. On the other hand, the fire safety of the high-rise building with laminated glass is also receiving more attention from the fire safety regulatory authorities and researchers due to recent fire incidents. Different interlayer polymeric materials are used in modern laminated glass to prevent the breakage of the glass façade, which can also increase the fire risk through a lower ignition time, and higher heat release and smoke production. Therefore, further research is required to understand the fire behaviour of laminated glass. In this study, the fire performance of the laminated glass has been investigated using cone calorimeter testing and the effect of different parameters such as glass thickness (6, 10, 12 mm), interlayer materials (PVB, SGP and EVA) and heat flux (25, 50 and 75 kW/m²) on the fire behaviour of laminated glass has been studied. It is found that the glass thickness, interlayer material and heat flux can significantly influence the reaction-to-fire properties such as peak heat release rate (pHRR), total heat release, time to ignition, and smoke production of laminated glass. In addition, total smoke production (TSP) is also very high for PVB (3.146 m²) and SGP (3.898 m²) laminated glass compared to EVA (0.401 m²) laminated glass and it is affected by these parameters. Finally, a simplified equation is developed to predict the pHRR of laminated glass by correlating the mass loss and external heat flux. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas — 1st Edition)

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20 pages, 573 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Critical Factors Affecting Fire Safety in High-Rise Buildings in the Emirate of Sharjah, UAE

by Musab Omar, Abdelgadir Mahmoud and Sa’ardin Bin Abdul Aziz

Fire 2023, 6(2), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6020068 - 15 Feb 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6212

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical factors affecting fire accidents in high-rise residential buildings in the Emirate of Sharjah in order to find solutions that contribute to reducing injuries and deaths from fire accidents. A large urban expansion of [...] Read more.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical factors affecting fire accidents in high-rise residential buildings in the Emirate of Sharjah in order to find solutions that contribute to reducing injuries and deaths from fire accidents. A large urban expansion of the Emirate of Sharjah has taken place in the form of high-rise buildings, and the Emirate is now third in the UAE in terms of the number of high-rise buildings and is home to 19% of the population. As a consequence, an increase in the rate of fire accidents has also been observed. As such, there is a need to conduct research on enhancing fire safety in high-rise buildings by conducting a literature review, in which nineteen factors affecting fire globally were identified. Because the fire characteristic is unique in every country, to identify the nature of fire in the Emirate of Sharjah, we consulted sixteen subject matter experts in the field of fire in the Emirate of Sharjah to identify the factors applicable to the Emirate. We used the failure mode, effect, and criticality analysis methodology to accomplish this goal. The outcome of the consultations resulted in the three main factor categories, which are management factors, human factors, and technical factors, and the critical factors affecting the high-rise buildings in the Emirate of Sharjah were identified, which are: fire regulations, fire enforcement regulations, accident investigation, rescue speed, human behavior, lack of proper maintenance, fire training, building design, fire knowledge, combustible materials, fire culture of society, and urbanization. Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) tools implemented to measure the effect level of the sub-critical fire factors, 45 effects were identified, and the most common effects were: the building is fully covered by cladding, the effect of stopping activities in HRBs that are non-compliant with fire regulations, the residents practice activities related to fire knowledge, fire regulations efficiency, the training of new employees by their employers, and the residents have fire-related knowledge. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas — 1st Edition)

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18 pages, 3168 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a Novel Quantitative Risk Assessment Tool for UK Road Tunnels

by Razieh Khaksari Haddad and Zambri Harun

Fire 2023, 6(2), 65; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6020065 - 10 Feb 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2314 | Correction

Abstract

Some of the most critical transportation infrastructures are road tunnels. Underground passageways for motorists are provided through this cost-effective engineering solution, which allows for high traffic volumes. A crucial aspect of the operation of road tunnels is fire safety. Risk assessments have been [...] Read more.

Some of the most critical transportation infrastructures are road tunnels. Underground passageways for motorists are provided through this cost-effective engineering solution, which allows for high traffic volumes. A crucial aspect of the operation of road tunnels is fire safety. Risk assessments have been established to ensure the level of safety in tunnels. As the existing quantitative risk analysis (QRA) models are inapplicable to assess the fire risk in UK road tunnels, this paper presents a novel QRA model, named LBAQRAMo, for UK road tunnels. This model consists of two main sections: quantitative frequency analysis, to estimate the frequency of fire incidents via an event tree; and quantitative consequences analysis, to model the consequences of fire incidents. LBAQRAMo covers the risk to tunnel users. The result of the risk analysis is the expected value of the societal risk of the investigated tunnel, presented via F/N curve. Another major result of this model is the estimation of the number of fatalities for each scenario based on the comparison between required safe egress time (RSET) and available safe egress time (ASET). Risk evaluation was carried out by comparison of the tunnel under study with the UK ALARP limit. The operation of the model is demonstrated by its application to the Gibraltar Airport Tunnel as a case study. Simulation of 34 different possible scenarios show that the tunnel is safe for use. The sensitivity of the model to HGV fire incident frequency and basic pre-movement times was studied as well. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas — 1st Edition)

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18 pages, 5708 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Ignition Frequency of Structural Fires in Australia from 2012 to 2019

by Samson Tan, Khalid Moinuddin and Paul Joseph

Fire 2023, 6(1), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6010035 - 16 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2705

Abstract

Appropriate estimates of ignition frequency derived from fire statistics are crucial for quantifying fire risks, given that ignition frequency underpins all probabilistic fire risk assessments for buildings. Rahikainen et al. (Fire Technol 2004; 40:335–53) utilized the generalized Barrois model to evaluate ignition frequencies [...] Read more.

Appropriate estimates of ignition frequency derived from fire statistics are crucial for quantifying fire risks, given that ignition frequency underpins all probabilistic fire risk assessments for buildings. Rahikainen et al. (Fire Technol 2004; 40:335–53) utilized the generalized Barrois model to evaluate ignition frequencies for different buildings in Finland. The Barrois model provides a good prediction of the trend of the ignition frequency; however, it can underestimate the ignition frequency depending on the building type. In this study, an analysis of the Australian fire statistical data from 2012 to 2019 was performed and compared with studies from Finland. A new coefficient is proposed to improve the Barrois model for a better fit for buildings in Australia. Several categories, such as hotels and hospitals, which were absent in previous studies, have been included as separate categories in this study. Office and retail spaces in Finland have an ignition frequency one order of magnitude lower than in Australia. On the other hand, other buildings (retail and apartments in particular) are much more prone to fire ignition in Australia than in Finland. The improved generalized Barrois model based on the Australian fire statistical data will be useful for determining ignition frequency for risk quantification in the Australian context. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas — 1st Edition)

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15 pages, 12202 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding Building Resistance to Wildfires: A Multi-Factor Approach

by André Samora-Arvela, José Aranha, Fernando Correia, Diogo M. Pinto, Cláudia Magalhães and Fantina Tedim

Fire 2023, 6(1), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6010032 - 13 Jan 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3311

Abstract

In terms of researching fire-related structure loss, various factors can affect structure survival during a wildfire. This paper aims to assess which factors were determinants in house resistance in the specific context of a case study of an extreme wildfire in the Central [...] Read more.

In terms of researching fire-related structure loss, various factors can affect structure survival during a wildfire. This paper aims to assess which factors were determinants in house resistance in the specific context of a case study of an extreme wildfire in the Central Region of Portugal and therefore which factors should be taken into account in the definition of a municipal mitigation strategy to defend buildings against wildfires. In this context, it is possible to conclude that various factors presented a predominant influence, some in building destruction and others in building survival. The existence of overhanging vegetation and lack of defensible space constitute major factors for structure destruction. the inherent wildfire severity, the location in the forest area, and the structure’s isolation from major roads were equally important factors that induced house destruction. Building survival was determined by its increasing distance from the forest and by its location in a dense urban agglomeration. Thus, a strategy to enhance resilience should include the prohibition of roof overhanging vegetation and the restriction of building permits in forest areas, in isolated locations, and/or very far from major roads. These orientations can be extrapolated to municipalities with similar susceptibility and vulnerability to wildfires. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas — 1st Edition)

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32 pages, 10999 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reduced Scale Experiments on Fire Spread Involving Multiple Informal Settlement Dwellings

by Vigneshwaran Narayanan, Anene Oguaka and Richard Shaun Walls

Fire 2022, 5(6), 199; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire5060199 - 23 Nov 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2733

Abstract

Fire disasters in informal settlements (also referred to as slums, shantytowns, favelas, etc.) are a major challenge worldwide, with a single incident being able to displace thousands of people. Numerous factors including dwelling spacing, material type, topography, weather, fuel loads, roads, and more [...] Read more.

Fire disasters in informal settlements (also referred to as slums, shantytowns, favelas, etc.) are a major challenge worldwide, with a single incident being able to displace thousands of people. Numerous factors including dwelling spacing, material type, topography, weather, fuel loads, roads, and more influence fire spread. Conducting large-scale experiments to quantify and understand these phenomena is difficult and costly. Hence, it would be beneficial if Reduced Scale Experiments (RSE) could be developed to study the influence of these phenomena. Previous research has demonstrated that a 1/4th scale informal settlement dwelling (ISD) RSE can sufficiently capture the fire behaviour and fire dynamics within dwellings. The objective of this work is to develop a methodology for multi-dwelling ISD scaling such that large-scale spread phenomena can be captured. This paper carries out a series of RSEs to study the influence of (a) the number of dwellings, (b) orientation of dwellings, windows, and door openings, (c) cladding material, (d) wind effects, (e) the distance between dwellings and (f) fuel load on spread. Results are compared to previous large-scale experiments. It is shown that the geometric scaling of distance between dwellings is suitable for capturing spread. It was found that wind and the fuel load contribute significantly to the fire spread, but the type of cladding, distance between dwellings, dwelling orientation, and type of structural members used also affects fire spread rates. The comparative results with full-scale experiments (FSEs) shows that the peak temperatures were comparable and had similar profiles. A good correlation exists between FSEs and RSEs in terms of fire dynamics and spread characteristics, but the spread time (scaled or unscaled) does not correlate well with FSEs. Further work is needed before the work can be reliably used for predicting multi-dwelling spread, especially when wind is involved, due to the complex interaction of parameters and difficulty in scaling flame impingement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas — 1st Edition)

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13 pages, 1268 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fire Risk Assessment on Wildland–Urban Interface and Adjoined Urban Areas: Estimation Vegetation Ignitability by Artificial Neural Network

by Maria Mahamed (Polinova), Lea Wittenberg, Haim Kutiel and Anna Brook

Fire 2022, 5(6), 184; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire5060184 - 3 Nov 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3170

Abstract

Fire risk assessment on the wildland–urban interface (WUI) and adjoined urban areas is crucial to prevent human losses and structural damages. One of many interacting and dynamic factors influencing the structure and function of fire-prone ecosystems is vegetation ignitability, which plays a significant [...] Read more.

Fire risk assessment on the wildland–urban interface (WUI) and adjoined urban areas is crucial to prevent human losses and structural damages. One of many interacting and dynamic factors influencing the structure and function of fire-prone ecosystems is vegetation ignitability, which plays a significant role in spreading fire. This study sought to identify areas with a high-level probability of ignition from time series multispectral images by designing a pattern recognition neural network (PRNN). The temporal behavior of six vegetation indices (VIs) before the considered wildfire event provided the input data for the PRNN. In total, we tested eight combinations of inputs for PRNN: the temporal behavior of each chosen VI, the temporal behavior of all indices together, and the values of VIs at specific dates selected based on factor analysis. The reference output data for training was a map of areas ignited in the wildfire. Among the considered inputs, the MSAVI dataset, which reflects changes in vegetation biomass and canopy cover, showed the best performance. The precision of the presented PRNN (RMSE = 0.85) in identification areas with a high potential of ignitability gives ground for the application of the proposed method in risk assessment and fuel treatment planning on WUI and adjoined urban areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas — 1st Edition)

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14 pages, 2109 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment and Mitigation of the Fire Vulnerability and Risk in the Historic City Centre of Aveiro, Portugal

by Dener Silva, Hugo Rodrigues and Tiago Miguel Ferreira

Fire 2022, 5(5), 173; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire5050173 - 21 Oct 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3466

Abstract

Identifying fire risk in urban centres is instrumental for supporting informed decision-making and outlining efficient vulnerability mitigation strategies. Historic centres are particularly complex in this regard due to the high density of combustible materials in these areas, the favourable fire propagation conditions between [...] Read more.

Identifying fire risk in urban centres is instrumental for supporting informed decision-making and outlining efficient vulnerability mitigation strategies. Historic centres are particularly complex in this regard due to the high density of combustible materials in these areas, the favourable fire propagation conditions between buildings, and the complex urban morphology, which makes the evacuation of inhabitants difficult in case of a fire emergency. Recent safety regulations tend not to be fully applicable to historic city centres, where the specificities of the buildings, together with the need to safeguard their heritage value, make the rules for new buildings incompatible. For that reason, an adaptation of current evaluation methods is required to assure the safety of these places. The present paper aims to contribute to this topic by presenting and discussing the results obtained from the application of a simplified fire risk assessment methodology to a representative part of the historic city centre of Aveiro, Portugal. Data were collected through fieldwork building inspections and the results were mapped using a Geographic Information System tool. The study reveals that around 63% of the assessed buildings have a level of fire risk greater than the level of risk which is acceptable for buildings with this type of use and value. Based on the work developed, different mitigation strategies are suggested and compared. Finally, the results obtained in this work are compared with results published for historic urban areas with similar characteristics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas — 1st Edition)

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19 pages, 5358 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Estimating the Suppression Performance of an Electronically Controlled Residential Water Mist System from BS 8458:2015 Fire Test Data

by Charlie Hopkin, Michael Spearpoint, Yusuf Muhammad and William Makant

Fire 2022, 5(5), 144; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire5050144 - 21 Sep 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3558

Abstract

It is commonly assumed in fire modelling that suppression systems can control the heat release rate of a fire. However, many performance-based assumptions are derived from experimental data for sprinklers, and uncertainty remains for their application to water mist systems. In the UK, [...] Read more.

It is commonly assumed in fire modelling that suppression systems can control the heat release rate of a fire. However, many performance-based assumptions are derived from experimental data for sprinklers, and uncertainty remains for their application to water mist systems. In the UK, residential water mist systems are usually tested to the BS 8458:2015 standard, but the heat release rate in these tests is not quantified and focus is instead placed on thermocouple temperatures. This paper details a series of fire tests to the BS 8458:2015 standard for an electronically controlled water mist system. The paper also includes B-RISK zone modelling of these tests to estimate the suppression performance of the system, comparing model outputs to thermocouple test data. Three traditional suppression assumptions, historically derived from experimental data for sprinklers, have been adopted in the zone modelling to examine whether their application following system activation can be extended to the tested water mist system. The work indicates that applying these suppression assumptions remains reasonable in the context of the performance of the tested water mist system, noting the constraints of the test methods in representing a limited number of fire scenarios. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas — 1st Edition)

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Review

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22 pages, 4708 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Scientometric Research on Applications and Advances of Fire Safety Evacuation in Buildings

by Yang Yang, Hongbo Du and Gang Yao

Fire 2023, 6(3), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6030083 - 22 Feb 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3645

Abstract

Fire safety evacuation has been used in numerous different kinds of buildings. This research conducts a scientometric review of fire safety evacuation applications and advances in the buildings to clarify the research trends of fire evacuation in the future and provide guidance for [...] Read more.

Fire safety evacuation has been used in numerous different kinds of buildings. This research conducts a scientometric review of fire safety evacuation applications and advances in the buildings to clarify the research trends of fire evacuation in the future and provide guidance for relevant research. A total of 3312 journals and conference proceedings were analyzed through different dimensions. The result proves that evacuation environments concentrate mainly on residential building, commercial building, school, and railway station. The characteristics of the evacuee have been gradually refined in recent years, including children, the elderly, patients, and vulnerable groups. The main experimental approaches of fire safety evacuation are evacuation drills, site records, and VR/AR experiments. The crowd behavior models mainly consist of six types: a cellular automata model, a social force model, a lattice gas model, a game-theoretic model, an animal agent-based model, and a computer agent-based model. The analysis results in the theoretical method are becoming gradually closer to the behavioral characteristics and movement data of the crowd during the actual evacuation with improvements of practical considerations. The study of evacuation drills, disaster rescue, emergencies, and other external environmental factors will become the forefront of future research, and subway stations, airports, high-rise building, and other personnel places will be the focus of the study of crowd evacuation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances on the Assessment and Mitigation of Fire Risk in Buildings and Urban Areas — 1st Edition)

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