Fire Safety Risk Analysis of a Health Care Facility

A methodology for deriving individual risk to people in a health care facility due to fire, is presented. The risk is expressed by the First Order Second Moment reliability index ß. The evacuation time for the patients is compared to the time to untenable conditions arise. Subjecting variables to uncertainty results in a reliability index value for the escape time margin. The influence on reliability index of various number of staff is examined. The scenarios are presented with the event tree methodology

Brandskyddsvärdering av flerbostadshus BSV-FB : Utveckling av metod för säkerhetsindex

A fire safety assessment method for multi-family buildings has been developed. The method is a scoring method and 19 parameters are assessed in order to determine the building fire safety level. Each parameter has its own weight for the total fire safety and the parameter weights are determined based on judgement in two expert groups. The expert groups have performed the weighting assessment independently. The method, BSV-FB, can be used by the building owner to compare the fire safety score with other building scores and make sure the building fire safety is not degraded

Kartläggning och kvalitativ analys av möjligheter och risker med reducerad syrehalt i brandceller innehållande elektrisk utrustning

Fires can be an important hazard for the overall safe operation of nuclear power plants. Prevention of fire, fast detection and efficient extinguishment of a fire are some parameters, which are important to consider when designing the fire safety in a nuclear power plant. As an alternative to extinguishment system the use of hypoxic air or hypoxic air venting has been introduced e.g. in storage room of a museum or a historical building. This system is now being proposed for use in fire compartments in nuclear power plants containing electrical equipment such as electrical cabinets, cable trays, etc. This reports is a pre-study to investigate the risk and advantages of this system for use in these types of rooms. This report also stipulates a number of areas where more research or investigations are necessary. The results in this report are based on a literature review of scientific publications and specific technical standards available in the area in combination with the technical expertise of the authors. The report should not be seen as a final evaluation of hypoxic air venting systems

Utrymning genom tät rök: beteende och förflyttning

This report describes evacuation experiments, which were performed in a smoke filled tunnel. The tunnel was filled with artificial smoke and acetic acid was used to achieve irritation of the eyes and upper respiratory tract. In the experiments 46 persons walked through the tunnel one at a time, while they were filmed with infra red cameras. All participants answered a questionnaire and some were also interviewed. In the experiment different equipment was tested. The equipment included flashing lights at the emergency exits and directional guiding lights indicating the direction to an exit. In the report the relationship between walking speed and smoke density is presented and analysed. The participants ́ behaviour in the tunnel is also described and the important results from the questionnaires and interviews are presented. The report also includes a suggested alternative design of emergency exits

Nyttoanalys av spisvakt och portabelt sprinklersystem vid bostadsbränder

A cost benefit analysis has been performed on the installation of stove guards or portable sprinkler systems as a means for reducing injuries in the case of a residential fire. The installations are analyzed separately and the benefit ratio is below 1.0 in most cases, indicating a low benefit in relation to the installation and maintenance costs. However, the benefit ratio is well above 1.0 for certain groups in the society, i.e. elderly smokers. The stove guard installation does not have a benefit ratio above 1.0 for the public in general. But there may be a societal benefit for the elderly having a stove guard but further analysis in needed as the statistical information in injuries caused by fire is subjected to a large uncertainty

Analysis of Fire Scenarios in Order to Ascertain an Acceptable Safety Level in Multi-Functional Buildings

The construction of multifunctional buildings has increased over the last years as well as the threat level considering antagonistic events. This presents challenges for the fire safety in these types of buildings since the protection objectives needs to be more focused on the functions the buildings are providing. Further the antagonistic exposures might present more challenging fire scenarios. A structured method how to determine fire scenarios in order to ascertain an acceptable safety level in multifunctional buildings has been developed and is based on the SFPE Engineering guides Fire Risk Assessment and Performance-Based Fire Protection. The method provides guidance on how to determine assets worth to preserve, protection objectives, exposures and finally the fire scenarios for multifunctional buildings. Previous accidents and events are discussed and serve as a background to the additional considerations needed for multifunctional buildings (compared to general buildings) and related to antagonistic exposures when determining fire scenarios. This article is a part of the project SAFE Multibygg that focuses on a methodology to identify fire risks with respect to antagonistic attacks in multifunctional buildings and to define fire safety solutions