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Ensuring Safety against Fires in Overcrowded Urban Areas
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Ensuring Safety against Fires in Overcrowded Urban Areas

A special issue of Fire (ISSN 2571-6255). This special issue belongs to the section "Fire Risk Assessment and Safety Management in Buildings and Urban Spaces".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 14664

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Peng Lin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Fire Safety Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China
Interests: fire dynamics; smoke control; evacuation modeling and performance-based fire engineering design
Prof. Dr. Jian Ma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Safety Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China
Interests: crowd dynamics; pedestrian simulation and control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A number of fire incidents in buildings over the past few decades have resulted in an increasing number of causalities and significant property loss. Fire safety in overcrowded urban areas is gaining increasing interest. We are pleased to invite you to present the latest theory and experimental studies in fire and smoke dynamics, evacuation modeling and experiments, human behavior in fire, structural fire protection, as well as fire risk assessment and performance-based fire engineering in buildings, tunnels, or similar structures.

This Special Issue aims to share recent achievements in fire-safety-related research in urban areas, address the challenges that the present and the future pose, and bridge the gap among scientists, practitioners, and authorities to improve fire safety in overcrowded urban areas.

In this Special Issue, we welcome original research articles and reviews concerning areas including (but not limited to) the following:

  • Fire and smoke dynamics in buildings or tunnels;
  • Pedestrian dynamics, evacuation modeling and experiments;
  • Structural fire protection;
  • Flame behavior in combustion and flame spread;
  • Fire risk assessment;
  • Performance-based fire engineering;
  • Fire incident reconstruction.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Peng Lin
Prof. Dr. Jian Ma
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fire is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fire and smoke dynamics
  • pedestrian and evacuation dynamics
  • structural fire protection
  • fire risk assessment
  • performance-based fire engineering
  • fire incident reconstruction

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 3861 KiB  
Article
A Novel Movable Mannequin Platform for Evaluating and Optimising mmWave Radar Sensor for Indoor Crowd Evacuation Monitoring Applications
by Qing Nian Chan, Dongli Gao, Yu Zhou, Sensen Xing, Guanxiong Zhai, Cheng Wang, Wei Wang, Shen Hin Lim, Eric Wai Ming Lee and Guan Heng Yeoh
Fire 2024, 7(6), 181; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire7060181 - 24 May 2024
Viewed by 1621
Abstract
Developing mmWave radar sensors for indoor crowd motion sensing and tracking faces a critical challenge: the scarcity of large-scale, high-quality training data. Traditional human experiments encounter logistical complexities, ethical considerations, and safety issues. Replicating precise human movements across trials introduces noise and inconsistency [...] Read more.
Developing mmWave radar sensors for indoor crowd motion sensing and tracking faces a critical challenge: the scarcity of large-scale, high-quality training data. Traditional human experiments encounter logistical complexities, ethical considerations, and safety issues. Replicating precise human movements across trials introduces noise and inconsistency into the data. To address this, this study proposes a novel solution: a movable platform equipped with a life-size mannequin to generate realistic and diverse data points for mmWave radar training and testing. Unlike human subjects, the platform allows precise control over movements, optimising sensor placement relative to the target object. Preliminary optimisation results reveal that sensor height impacts tracking performance, with an optimal sensor placement above the test subject yields the best results. The results also reveal that the 3D data format outperforms 2D data in accuracy despite having fewer frames. Additionally, analysing height distribution using 3D data highlights the importance of the sensor angle—15° downwards from the horizontal plane. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ensuring Safety against Fires in Overcrowded Urban Areas)
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26 pages, 1218 KiB  
Article
Impact of the Local Dynamics on Exit Choice Behaviour in Evacuation Model
by Sensen Xing, Cheng Wang, Dongli Gao, Wei Wang, Anthony Chun Yin Yuen, Eric Wai Ming Lee, Guan Heng Yeoh and Qing Nian Chan
Fire 2024, 7(5), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire7050167 - 13 May 2024
Viewed by 1416
Abstract
This study investigated the interplay between exit selection models and local pedestrian movement patterns within floor field frameworks. Specifically, this investigation analysed the performance of a multinomial logit exit choice model, incorporating both expected utility theory and cumulative prospect theory frameworks when coupled [...] Read more.
This study investigated the interplay between exit selection models and local pedestrian movement patterns within floor field frameworks. Specifically, this investigation analysed the performance of a multinomial logit exit choice model, incorporating both expected utility theory and cumulative prospect theory frameworks when coupled with three distinct local-level pedestrian movement models (FF-Von Neumann, FF-Moore, and NSFF). The expected utility theory framework considers the deterministic component as a linear relationship, while the cumulative prospect theory framework further considers the decision-maker’s risky attitudes by transforming objective terms into subjective terms using a power value function. The core objective was to comprehend how local movement dynamics, as represented by the floor field models, influence decision-making during exit selection. Comparative analyses revealed intriguing variations between the three local models, despite their shared expected utility theory-based exit choice framework. These discrepancies stemmed from the diverse pedestrian trajectory behaviours generated by each model. Consequently, these local dynamics impacted the decision-maker’s assessment of critical factors, such as the number of evacuees close to the decision-maker (NCDM) and the number of evacuees close to an exit (NCE), which the exit choice model incorporates. These assessments, in turn, significantly affected higher-level decision-making. The integration of the three models with the multinomial logit exit choice model, using either cumulative prospect theory and expected utility theory frameworks, further strengthened the observed bilateral relationship. While the specific nature of this relationship varied depending on the chosen framework and its implementation details, these consistent findings demonstrate the robustness of the results. This reinforced the influence of local-level pedestrian dynamics on higher-level exit selection, highlighting the importance of accurate crowd dynamics modelling, especially when advanced exit choice models consider local movement factors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ensuring Safety against Fires in Overcrowded Urban Areas)
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14 pages, 4027 KiB  
Article
Effect of Different Time Step Sizes on Pedestrian Evacuation Time under Emergencies Such as Fires Using an Extended Cellular Automata Model
by Hongpeng Qiu, Xuanwen Liang, Qian Chen and Eric Wai Ming Lee
Fire 2024, 7(3), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire7030100 - 21 Mar 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1527
Abstract
The cellular automata (CA) model has been a meaningful way to study pedestrian evacuation during emergencies, such as fires, for many years. Although the time step used in the CA model is one of the most essential elements, there is a lack of [...] Read more.
The cellular automata (CA) model has been a meaningful way to study pedestrian evacuation during emergencies, such as fires, for many years. Although the time step used in the CA model is one of the most essential elements, there is a lack of research on its impact on evacuation time. In this paper, we set different time step sizes in an extended cellular automaton model and discuss the effect of time step size on the overall evacuation time under different emergency types and levels. For a fixed step time mode, the larger the time step, the longer the evacuation time. In each time step size, the evacuation time gradually increases with the increase of emergency level, and there is a sharp increase when the time for pedestrians to move one step is exactly an integer multiple of the time step. When there is no friction between pedestrians, the evacuation time at each time step first decreases slightly with the increase of emergency level and then remains unchanged; the larger the time step, when the evacuation time remains unchanged, the lower the emergency level and the greater the evacuation time. For the variable time step model, when the friction between pedestrians approaches infinity, the total evacuation time does not change with the emergency level; when the friction between pedestrians is reduced, the total evacuation time slightly decreases with the increase of the emergency level. The less friction there is, the more significant the reduction. The results of previous actual experiments are also reflected in the simulation at a lower emergency level. The result shows that the time step size significantly impacts the evacuation simulation results of the CA model, and researchers should choose carefully to obtain more realistic simulation results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ensuring Safety against Fires in Overcrowded Urban Areas)
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15 pages, 3637 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study on Pedestrian Behaviors during Fire Emergency Conditions with Minecraft: Case Studies in a Classroom
by Zhichao Zhang, Wenke Zhang, Yueyao Ma, Eric Wai Ming Lee and Meng Shi
Fire 2023, 6(11), 422; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6110422 - 6 Nov 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2412
Abstract
The comprehension of the fire evacuation process is crucial for developing effective evacuation management strategies to enhance pedestrian safety. In this study, we construct a classroom with internal obstacles forming intersecting pathways in Minecraft, and conduct a series of virtual evacuation experiments involving [...] Read more.
The comprehension of the fire evacuation process is crucial for developing effective evacuation management strategies to enhance pedestrian safety. In this study, we construct a classroom with internal obstacles forming intersecting pathways in Minecraft, and conduct a series of virtual evacuation experiments involving multiple pedestrians to investigate the pedestrian behaviors. Case studies in a single-exit classroom demonstrated that normal obstacles and fire in the main evacuation path prompt pedestrians to detour, and pedestrians exhibit fire-avoidance behavior in advance during fire emergency. In the two-exit classroom experiments, normal obstacles have a limited effect on the exit choices of pedestrians, as they primarily choose the nearest exit. Pedestrians positioned in the center of classroom are influenced by their initial orientations, and some pedestrians opt for exits in their initial facing directions. The presence of fire has a greater influence on pedestrians’ exit choices, with most opting for exits away from the fire. Furthermore, during fire emergencies, some pedestrians engage in risk-taking behavior by choosing higher-risk paths in pursuit of a faster evacuation. These adventurous pedestrians proactively plan routes that maximize their distance from the fire and exhibit orderly queuing behavior. These findings are helpful to reveal pedestrian behaviors during fire emergencies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ensuring Safety against Fires in Overcrowded Urban Areas)
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23 pages, 6707 KiB  
Article
A Real-Time Pre-Response Experiment System for High-Rise Building Fires Based on the Internet of Things
by Haoyou Zhao, Zhaoyang Yu and Jinpeng Zhu
Fire 2023, 6(7), 271; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6070271 - 9 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2272
Abstract
The primary objective of the current fire protection system in high-rise buildings is to extinguish fires in close proximity to the detectors. However, in the event of rapidly spreading fires, it is more effective to limit the transmission of fire and smoke. This [...] Read more.
The primary objective of the current fire protection system in high-rise buildings is to extinguish fires in close proximity to the detectors. However, in the event of rapidly spreading fires, it is more effective to limit the transmission of fire and smoke. This study aims to develop an IoT-based real-time pre-response system for high-rise building fires that is capable of limiting the spread of fire and smoke. The proposed system collects fire data from sensors and transmits them to a cloud computer for real-time analysis. Based on the analysis results, the cloud computer controls the actions of alarm devices, ventilation equipment, and fine water mist nozzles. The system can dynamically adjust the entire system’s behavior in real time by adopting pre-response measures to extinguish fires and limit the spread of fires and smoke. The system was tested on a simulation platform similar to actual high-rise buildings to evaluate its impact on fires and smoke. The results demonstrate the system’s effectiveness in extinguishing fires and suppressing the spread of fires and smoke. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ensuring Safety against Fires in Overcrowded Urban Areas)
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21 pages, 12370 KiB  
Article
Geospatial Wildfire Risk Assessment from Social, Infrastructural and Environmental Perspectives: A Case Study in Queensland Australia
by Mahyat Shafapourtehrany
Fire 2023, 6(1), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6010022 - 9 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4114
Abstract
Although it is hard to predict wildfires, risky areas can be systematically assessed and managed. Some of the factors for decision-making are hazard, vulnerability, and risk maps, which are the end product of wildfire mapping. This study deals with wildfire risk analysis in [...] Read more.
Although it is hard to predict wildfires, risky areas can be systematically assessed and managed. Some of the factors for decision-making are hazard, vulnerability, and risk maps, which are the end product of wildfire mapping. This study deals with wildfire risk analysis in Queensland, Australia. A review of the previous studies focusing on each aspect has been done and used with wildfire records from 2011 to 2019 in Queensland, Australia, to compile the required input models to detect risky wildfire regions. Machine learning (ML) methods of Decision Tree (DT) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) were used to perform hazard assessment. The reason was to select the most accurate outcomes for the rest of the analysis. Among accuracy assessment techniques, the Area Under Curvature (AUC) method was used to evaluate the hazard maps. Prediction rates of 89.21% and 83.78% were obtained for DT and SVM, respectively. The DT prediction value showed that the DT-hazard map was more accurate than the SVM-hazard map. Vulnerability analysis was implemented by assigning weights to each factor according to the literature. Lastly, in order to create the wildfire risk map, the hazard and vulnerability indices were combined. The risk map showed that particularly dense urbanization regions are under future wildfire risk. To perform preliminary land use planning, this output can be used by local governmental authorities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ensuring Safety against Fires in Overcrowded Urban Areas)
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