{"title":"Indoor Air Quality Sensor Utilization for Unwanted Fire Alarm Improvement in Studio-Type Apartments","authors":"Han-bit Choi, Euy-hong Hwang, Don-mook Choi","doi":"10.3390/fire6070255","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6070255","url":null,"abstract":"Smoke detectors play a vital role in evacuation and safety during fire incidents, as they directly contribute to the reliability and accuracy of firefighting systems. However, if not installed properly, smoke detectors can trigger unwanted fire alarms (UWFAs), particularly in studio-type apartments. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a method for reducing UWFAs by addressing the challenges posed by cooking by-products in such environments. The proposed algorithm was validated through tests, considering relevant literature and standards, and utilizing indoor air quality sensors. Verification tests were conducted to enhance the accuracy of the algorithm. Based on the experimental results, cutoff values of 5 ppm for CO and 7000 μg/m3 for PM10.0 were proposed as criteria for identifying UWFAs caused by cooking by-products.","PeriodicalId":36395,"journal":{"name":"Fire-Switzerland","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42260715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comment on Laming et al. The Curse of Conservation: Empirical Evidence Demonstrating That Changes in Land-Use Legislation Drove Catastrophic Bushfires in Southeast Australia. Fire 2022, 5, 175","authors":"Ian Penna","doi":"10.3390/fire6070253","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6070253","url":null,"abstract":"In 1970, the Victorian state government in Australia established the Land Conservation Council (LCC) to study the state’s publicly-owned land and make recommendations for its use [...]","PeriodicalId":36395,"journal":{"name":"Fire-Switzerland","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41396295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tiago Ermitão, Patrícia Páscoa, I. Trigo, Catarina Alonso, C. Gouveia
{"title":"Mapping the Most Susceptible Regions to Fire in Portugal","authors":"Tiago Ermitão, Patrícia Páscoa, I. Trigo, Catarina Alonso, C. Gouveia","doi":"10.3390/fire6070254","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6070254","url":null,"abstract":"Mediterranean European countries, including Portugal, are considered fire-prone regions, being affected by fire events every summer. Nonetheless, Portugal has been recording large burned areas over the last 20 years, which are not only strongly associated with hot and dry conditions, but also with high fuel availability in the ecosystems. Due to recent catastrophic fire seasons, Portugal has been implementing preventive policies during the pre-fire season, which, in turn, can optimize combat strategies during the fire season. In this context, our study contributes to fire prevention by identifying the regions with the highest potential to burn. The application of a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to a range of climatological, ecological, and biophysical variables, either provided by remote sensing or reanalysis products, and known to be linked with diverse fire-vulnerability factors, allows the objective identification of the regions with the highest susceptibility to burn. The central and southernmost areas of Portugal present a stronger signal in the PCA, suggesting a likely high exposure to future fire events. The fuel accumulation over several months, in conjunction with elevation and fire weather conditions, are the terms out of the retained PCs that can explain most of the variability. The quality assessment performed for the burned areas in 2022 showed that they occurred in highly susceptible areas, highlighting the usefulness of the proposed methodology.","PeriodicalId":36395,"journal":{"name":"Fire-Switzerland","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47095457","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xuejun Jia, Yongsheng Wang, Jingtao Chen, Z. Fang, K. Xia, He Wang
{"title":"Performance-Based Fire-Protection Design of Public Amenities with Restrained Personnel Activities","authors":"Xuejun Jia, Yongsheng Wang, Jingtao Chen, Z. Fang, K. Xia, He Wang","doi":"10.3390/fire6070256","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6070256","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, performance-based fire-protection design is used for the fire-safety design of public amenities with restrained personnel activities. In these places, tourists’ activities are constrained in a limited space such as cockpit moving along the track. Since it is another typical scenario of fire-protection problem that cannot fully comply with the current mandatory codes and regulations, simulation analysis is used in order to ensure that such fire scenario could achieve performance objectives as expected. Firstly, corresponding fire-protection performance objectives, strategies and simplified evaluation criteria are brought forward in this paper. Then, through simulating the smoke flow in the fire using the computational fluid dynamics software FDS, the effectiveness of the smoke control strategy is verified. Meanwhile, the escaping environments of these fire scenes are analyzed. Further, the personnel evacuation simulation software (Pathfinder) is resorted to simulate the personnel emergency evacuation. The efficiency and the total time that consumed are obtained. Finally, by analyzing the similarities and differences of evacuation under different fire scenes, the fire and smoke spread in the riding area can be effectively controlled, and a safe evacuation environment can be provided for the evacuation of tourists.","PeriodicalId":36395,"journal":{"name":"Fire-Switzerland","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41732279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Silica Fume Enhances the Mechanical Strength of Alkali-Activated Slag/Fly Ash Pastes Subjected to Elevated Temperatures","authors":"Weidong Dai, Yachao Wang","doi":"10.3390/fire6070252","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6070252","url":null,"abstract":"The fireproof design of geopolymers through adjusting multi-component metallurgical solid wastes has attracted increasing attention, due to their potential low carbon emission, cost effectiveness, and role in environmental conservation. Herein, the effects of silica fume (SF) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of alkali-activated slag/FA (fly ash) pastes subjected to elevated temperatures (150, 500, 850, and 1200 °C) are investigated to clarify whether or not SF has a positive role in the mechanical strength of the slag/FA (slag/FA = 30:70, wt.%) geopolymer during building fires. The results show that the replacement of FA with 10 wt.% SF (silica fume) promotes the increasing pore volume with a diameter of 0.2~3 μm, leading to an increase in the compressive or flexural strength below 850 °C, “right shifts” of the endothermic peak, and uniform and compact fracture surfaces. Meanwhile, gehlenite and labradorite are generated after exposure above 850 °C. The bloating effect of the SF-containing sample occurs at 1200 °C, leading to a greater deformation due to the further restructuring of the amorphous geopolymer chain N–A–S–H or N–(Ca)–A–S–H composed of [SiO4]4− and [AlO4]5−. This paper explores an effective approach to improving geopolymers’ fireproof performance by adjusting the formulation of solid waste.","PeriodicalId":36395,"journal":{"name":"Fire-Switzerland","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48410003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Esmaeil Mohammadian Bishe, Mohammad Norouzi, H. Afshin, B. Farhanieh
{"title":"A Case Study on the Effects of Weather Conditions on Forest Fire Propagation Parameters in the Malekroud Forest in Guilan, Iran","authors":"Esmaeil Mohammadian Bishe, Mohammad Norouzi, H. Afshin, B. Farhanieh","doi":"10.3390/fire6070251","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6070251","url":null,"abstract":"The present study investigates the effect of climatic parameters, such as air relative humidity and wind speed, on fire spread propagation indexes in the Malekroud Forest, Iran using the FARSITE simulator based on Rothermel’s original fire spread equation. Standard fuel models are used to calibrate the vegetation cover. Sorensen (SC) and kappa (κ) coefficients, as well as the Overestimation Index (OI), are used to estimate the simulation’s accuracy. The results confirm that using both ambient condition data and appropriate fuel models is crucial to reaching reasonable results in fire propagation simulations. The values of the Rate of Fire Spread (ROS), Flame Length (FML), and Fire Line Intensity (FLI) are reported for each particular scenario. The simulation results show that the Sorensen and Kappa coefficient for situations most similar to the real fire reached 0.82 and 0.80, respectively. The investigated fire’s severity is categorized as low-condition fire behavior. The simulation shows that fire propagation falls harshly in the case of air relative humidity by more than 72%, and we will not witness natural fire propagation on a large scale.","PeriodicalId":36395,"journal":{"name":"Fire-Switzerland","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46416431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effect of Premixed Ethanol Ratio Based on the Same Heating Value on the Atomization of Diesel Fuel Injected in the Cylinder","authors":"S. Min, H. Suh","doi":"10.3390/fire6070249","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6070249","url":null,"abstract":"The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a premixed ethanol ratio based on the same total heating value in a cylinder on the equivalence ratio distributions and the injected fuel droplet behavior in the cylinder of an RCCI engine. The spray simulation was conducted in two parts. First, we carried out spray validation simulations to determine the spray-influenced factor of the test injector. Next, engine simulations were performed with the spray-influenced factor obtained from the spray validation simulations to investigate the effect of the premixed ethanol ratio based on the same total heating value in a cylinder on the injected fuel atomization and the equivalence ratio distributions. The introduced total heating value was fixed at 595 J based on the lower heating value of diesel, 14 mg. The heating value of the premixed ethanol ratio varied from 0% to 40% based on the same total heating value in the cylinder in steps of 10%. It was revealed that when the premixed ethanol ratio based on the same total heating value in the cylinder was increased, the spray tip penetration value was reduced after 4 deg of diesel was injected because of the short injection duration and the small amount of diesel fuel used. The SMD value was also increased up to 32.58% with an increasing premixed ethanol ratio because of the low kinetic energy of the injected fuel, the short injection duration, the slow evaporation of the injected fuel and the low cylinder temperature.","PeriodicalId":36395,"journal":{"name":"Fire-Switzerland","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47821979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Athanasiou, A. Martinis, E. Korakaki, E. Avramidou
{"title":"Development of a Fuel Model for Cistus spp. and Testing Its Fire Behavior Prediction Performance","authors":"M. Athanasiou, A. Martinis, E. Korakaki, E. Avramidou","doi":"10.3390/fire6070247","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6070247","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents the development of a fuel model that can describe fuel situations in areas dominated by Cistus spp. (rockrose) in Greece. In order to obtain the necessary fuel data, thirty (30) 1 m2 plots were destructively sampled in phryganic areas dominated by Cistus creticus, Cistus parviflorus, and Cistus salvifolius in western Greece. To develop the fuel model for Cistus spp., field measurements were supplemented with published parameter values for Cistus salvifolius. The resulting fuel model (with a height of 9.44 cm) is suitable for describing Cistus spp.-dominated phryganic areas of relatively low vegetation height in southeastern Europe. Once developed, the fuel model was inputted into the BehavePlus system to produce surface fire rate of spread predictions (ROSpred, m·min−1), which were then compared to 21 surface fire ROS field observations (ROSobs) obtained from wildfires or prescribed burns in areas covered by Cistus spp. It was found that the ROS for the Cistus spp. fuel model significantly underpredicted the actual ROS. A statistically significant linear regression equation was developed to mathematically describe the relationship between the predicted and observed ROS. This equation can be used to adjust BehavePlus predictions to more accurately reflect the real-world fire behavior for this fuel type.","PeriodicalId":36395,"journal":{"name":"Fire-Switzerland","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43854871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kanak Kumar, N. S. Rajput, Alexey V. Shvetsov, Abdu Saif, Radhya Sahal, S. Alsamhi
{"title":"ID2S4FH: A Novel Framework of Intelligent Decision Support System for Fire Hazards","authors":"Kanak Kumar, N. S. Rajput, Alexey V. Shvetsov, Abdu Saif, Radhya Sahal, S. Alsamhi","doi":"10.3390/fire6070248","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6070248","url":null,"abstract":"Modern societies and industrial sectors are serviced through storage and distribution centres (SDCs) such as supermarkets, malls, warehouses, etc. Large quantities of supplies are stocked here, e.g., food grains, clothes, shoes, pharmaceuticals, electronics, plastics, edible oils, electrical wires/equipment, petroleum products, painting materials, etc. Fires due to the burning of these materials are categorized into six classes, viz., Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, Class K, and Class F. A fire is extinguished better when the right type of fire retardant is used. A thumb rule on firefighting also says, “never fight a fire if you do not know what is burning”. In this paper, we have proposed an Intelligent Decision Support System (ID2S4FH) to generate a real-time ‘fire-map’ of such SDCs during a fire hazard. We have interfaced six tin-oxide-based gas sensor elements, a temperature and humidity sensor, and a particulate matter (PM) sensor with microcontrollers to capture the real-time signature patterns of the ambient air. We burned sixteen different types of materials belonging to six classes of fire and created a dataset consisting of 2400 samples. The sensor array responses were then pre-processed and analysed using various classifiers trained in different analysis space domains. Among the classifiers, four classifiers achieved ‘all correct’ identification of the fire classes of 80 unknown test samples, and the lowest mean squared error (MSE) achieved was 2.81 × 10−3. During a fire hazard, our proposed ID2S4FH can generate real-time fire maps of SDCs and help firefighters to extinguish the fire using the appropriate fire retardant.","PeriodicalId":36395,"journal":{"name":"Fire-Switzerland","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45937048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Binfeng Sun, C. Bai, Caihui Zhao, Jianping Li, Xiaoliang Jia
{"title":"Optimization of Ejection Characteristics for Twice-Detonating Device in Double-Event Fuel-Air Explosive with High Drop Velocity","authors":"Binfeng Sun, C. Bai, Caihui Zhao, Jianping Li, Xiaoliang Jia","doi":"10.3390/fire6070250","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6070250","url":null,"abstract":"The key to ensure the reliability of the cloud detonation in high-drop-velocity double-event fuel-air explosives (DEFAEs) is to cause the twice-detonating device (TDD) to detonate in the dispersed fuel. Here, an ejection mechanism for a TDD is designed and the ejection process is analyzed through an outfield ejection test. Accordingly, a simulation model for the description of the ejection process is established and verified to be reliable by comparing it with the experimental results. Based on the model, two extended ensamples for design optimization of the ejection mechanism are developed. The factors influencing the ejection characteristics of the TDD are further analyzed, including the ejection charge mass and screw (for baffle fixing) parameter. The research carried out here provides theoretical and experimental support for the optimal design of the ejection mechanism in high-drop-velocity DEFAEs.","PeriodicalId":36395,"journal":{"name":"Fire-Switzerland","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48806086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}