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This paper presents the performance-based fire safety analysis of steel structures of padel-center built in Nokia, Finland. The analyses are conducted using advanced calculation models (fire simulations using Fire Dynamics Simulator, FDS, and finite element method, FEM, based analyses of the steel frames in elevated temperatures using SAFIR software, including joint analysis) in support with less sophisticated models (critical temperatures of steel members). The following localized fire scenarios are studied: lounge area furniture fire (4 sofas), sporting equipment fire (10 sporting bags filled with flammable clothing), fire during maintenance (scissor lift fire with miscellaneous temporary fire load) and a fire on HVAC balcony near the trusses. The aim of the paper is showcase recent developments in design processes and methods that are in practical use today in performance-based fire design (PBD), to demonstrate that relatively extensive performance-based studies can be (commercially) viable also in relatively small and mundane steel buildings, and to present a fairly robust framework for PBD of similar steel structures. As a result of the performance-based design, most of the steel structures in the case building could be constructed without fire protection, but some critical structures were identified and protected to class R30. The proposed design was approved by the local municipal authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risk-based design and assessment methods are gaining popularity in performance-based structural fire engineering. These methods usually start by defining a set of hazard scenarios to use as analysis inputs. This approach, proven highly effective for other hazard types such as earthquakes, may not be optimal for fire safety design. Indeed, the strong coupling between the fire phenomenon and structural features enables an ad-hoc design variable selection (and/or optimisation) to reduce fire intensity, making fire scenarios additional design outputs. In addition, such a coupling effect implies that fire scenarios maximising consequences are structure specific. Building on these considerations, this paper discusses the limitations that arise at different analysis steps (i.e., fire-scenario and intensity treatment, identifying fire intensity measures, probabilistic fire hazard analysis, developing fire fragility models, and risk calculation) when using conventional risk-based approaches for design purposes. Furthermore, it compares such approaches with a fire safety design methodology (the Consequence-oriented Fire intensity Optimisation, CFO, approach) that addresses the identified limitations. The potential benefits of integrating the two approaches are also discussed. Finally, the fire design of a simplified steel-girder bridge is introduced as an illustrative example, comparing the consequence metrics and design updating strategies resulting from the two approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global fire performance of structures in fire is proven to be more advantageous in many cases of engineering practice than the prescriptive fire resistance based on isolated structural member testing. Hybrid fire simulation (HFS) is a novel well-suited method trending in recent years for analysis of global performance of structures in fire. In the principles of this method, the part of a structure which has unknown behavior or is uncertain to be numerically modeled (subjected to fire) would be physically tested, while the rest of the structure is numerically simulated. HFS method enables capturing the beneficial interaction mechanisms evolving between fire-exposed structural members and the adjacent cooler substructure. Due to the continuous temperature increase in a fire test and the existing thermal inertia as well as the rate- and temperature-dependent material behavior of structures exposed to fire, a real-time performance in hybrid fire simulation counts as a necessity. This challenge is more critical for hybrid fire simulations with higher applied heating rates relevant to structural fire engineering. Within scope of this paper, (a) a robust and rigorous approach for real-time HFS is presented; (b) a series of proof-of-concept studies of different hybrid fire simulations with various applied heating rates are carried out for a thermomechanical benchmark problem; (c) the important results of four representative hybrid fire simulations with relevant heating rates to structural fire engineering are discussed; (d) the importance of an appropriate calculation method for stiffness update of the fire-exposed structural member over HFS procedure is highlighted, and e) the precision and accuracy of the applied HFS approach with respect to interface error and real-time degree are evidenced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposed timber in buildings has proven to have a positive effect on the building's sustainability, occupant wellness, and increases the aesthetic appeal of the building but is currently limited by most building codes mainly due to fire safety concerns. While compartment fire testing can be carried out to prove a design performance, this approach is costly and time consuming. Models predicting the fire dynamics inside mass timber compartment with exposed surfaces were developed over the last years. The charring rate of the timber elements, in these models, is either the charring rate of timber when exposed to standard fire or the displacement of the 300°C isotherm using finite element analysis involving several parameters to be determined. Furthermore, using the 300°C isotherm does not account for the impact of the oxygen concentration on the charring rate. In this study, a two-zone model has been developed to estimate the heat release rate (HRR), the upper-layer temperature and oxygen concentration, and the char depth of the exposed timber elements during compartment fires. The charring rate is determined as a function of the incident heat flux impinging on the surface and the oxygen concentration. Comparing the model predictions to 20 experimental compartment fires with and without exposed timber surfaces shows that the model captures well the general fire dynamic, i.e., HRR and temperature. The char depth predictions are close to the experimental data, while being mostly conservative. Seven limitations and improvements have been discussed and will be considered in future versions of this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past three decades, fire engineering has experienced fast development worldwide. Fire regulations for building industry were moved from prescriptive description to performance-based specification. This trend started in the UK in the 1980s and spread to other western countries. Hong Kong closely followed the UK development and adopted the approach of performance-based design (PBD) for the Hong Kong International Airport and MTR stations in the early 1990s. The Government of Hong Kong SAR formally recognised the PBD approach in the prescriptive codes of practice in the mid-1990s and developed the performance-based code (PBC) in the 2000s. This PBC was promulgated in 2011. The evolution in fire engineering impacted the fire community in Mainland China. The State Key Laboratory of Fire Science (SKLFS) was established in University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 1991. Then fire science and fire engineering stepped into the fast development track. The building industry in Mainland China started to adopt the PBD approach in the early 2000s for the significant developments including large airport terminals, railway and metro stations, super high-rise buildings, and mega commercial centres. However, a structured PBC system is not available within the regulatory framework to date. Adoption of PBD approach is slowing down in recent years. This paper presents a review of fire engineering development in Hong Kong and Mainland China. The review focuses on the development of the PBC in Hong Kong, and the PBD approach and fire research in Mainland China in the past 30 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents two facets of rationalizing natural fires in concrete compartments for structural fire safety. The paper proposes the rate of fire growth corresponding to the maximum possible peak temperature in a compartment, followed by an equation to estimate the equivalent severity between the standard and a natural fire using an energy-based approach. Standard fire curves, applied universally for all design conditions may over- or under-predict real compartment fires. Meanwhile, a full-fledged performance-based design is neither practical nor straightforward to employ in every design situation. The Eurocode parametric temperature–time curves enable engineers to account for specific compartment characteristics, including compartment geometry, building materials, fuel load, and ventilation. Given that different structural fire safety design approaches entail varying levels of complexity, this paper presents simple methods to estimate the worst-scenario compartment fire characteristics. Additionally, fire ratings are established only using standard fire curves, necessitating a scientific means of determining an equivalent severity between natural and standard fires. The energy-equivalence approach used in this paper to establish an equivalent fire severity yields more consistent results than traditional equivalent fire severity methods and empirical formulae for concrete compartments. The proposed equations are developed using simulations of compartment fires and provide insights into the ventilation characteristics that result in the worst-case scenario for both the rate of fire growth and the equivalent time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probabilistic fire simulation has been gaining interest in performance-based design approach. Very few evaluations on modelling performance can lead to unnecessary simulations which limit the understanding of fire engineering practitioners to select suitable model for a specific fire phenomenon. This study presents comparison of models' capabilities to recreate kitchen fire experiment through probabilistic assessments when there are various possibilities of fire spread can occur within the compartment. Such situation must consider the possible heat release rate curve from previously burning kitchen item, as this will effect on the possibility that other item igniting, and so enhance the intensity of fire. Determination of accumulated heat release rate data is assessed through the use of B-RISK and simplified model. Simulation input employs design fire for single furniture that was characterized through combination of peak growth and exponential decay functions using statistical analysis of fire severity characteristics from collated experimental data. Probabilistic correlation discloses that both models are able to produce results within an acceptable range of fire practice (> 20%), but B-RISK has better representation of possible cumulative heat release rate region than simplified model when more than 58% similarity of fire spread predictions among multiple items is achieved over different boundary ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fundamental construct for performance-based design for fire safety in use today has not significantly changed since the early 1990s. While the current construct has seen some success, performance-based design for fire safety is not as broadly accepted as performance-based design approaches in other building-related engineering disciplines. To advance performance-based design for fire safety, it is proposed to move towards a sociotechnical systems approach. This means changing the starting point from a focus on fire safety objectives as a unique property of buildings, infrastructure, or operations, and considering fire safety as one of several sociotechnical objectives. It also means focusing fire safety analysis and design on system attributes which can be controlled through design, and less on variables for which control is unlikely or not possible. As part of this, consideration of fire safety systems performance should be considered in terms of a 'fail-safe' perspective, in which there is less focus on all possible events that could occur, and more on preventing those which could result in unacceptable performance. Evaluation of building fire safety as a sociotechnical systems problem would also need to consider the interactions of all components that contribute to safety over the lifetime of the system, including in-use safety system management and system performance over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 1300 new buildings over 200 m tall have been built since the year 2000, representing 80% of the total number of supertall buildings globally. The proliferation of such challenging architecture in densely populated urban environments has led engineers to question the fitness of the prevalent prescriptive approaches in ensuring the safety of occupants in the event of a fire. This paper proposes a more rational methodology to estimate scientifically appropriate boundary conditions to represent realistic fire scenarios on the structure for more credible simulation of the consequent structural response using an integrated computational tool. An open-source framework, "OpenFIRE" is developed to implement the methodology. OpenFIRE is capable of simulating the whole sequence i.e., development of a fire scenario, heat transfer to the structure, and the thermomechanical response of the structure, through a sequential coupling of CFD tools with FE software. OpenFIRE exploits the capabilities of available tools such as FDS and OpenSEES and integrates them to produce a free, efficient, and open source computational framework which allows to customise and modify the source codes. It can bring structural fire community a step closer towards the adoption of performance-based designs. This framework is validated by comparing the thermal and structural responses of a square hollow section (SHS) steel column under fire with the experimental data. The critical parameters of the fire scenario produced by the framework are found in close agreement with the experimental data. The thermal and structural responses of the SHS column exposed to the developed fire scenario are also validated with test results in terms of structural temperatures, failure modes, and failure load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses application of a new methodology that facilitates fuel load surveys in buildings. The methodology consists of four steps comprising digital inventory, data organization, item matching through computer vision, and fuel load estimation, and is programmed into a digitized surveying application. The present paper applies the methodology to three office buildings and provides the results of surveyed fuel load density. A total office area of 1720 m2 was surveyed consisting of 34 closed offices and 161 cubicles within 12 large open plan office spaces. Compartment areas range from 8 m2 to 87 m2 for closed offices and 24 m2 to 345 m2 for open plan offices. The measured fuel load density for movable content had a mean of 1115 MJ/m2 with a standard deviation of 614 MJ/m2. When including the fixed content, the measured total fuel load density had a mean of 1486 MJ/m2 with a standard deviation of 726 MJ/m2. These values are considerably larger than values found in older surveys and most code provisions. The surveyed rooms had large quantities of paper, which amounted to 54% of the movable fuel load on average. Based on these results, and findings from other recent surveys, it is recommended to collect additional data. The work has established the foundation toward a fully automatized method, relying on an electronic form and a structured database of recorded information. A wide adoption of this method could populate an extensive fuel load database which can then be used to provide design guidelines for fuel load density in codes and standards, for application in performance-based design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fuel load is a crucial parameter for evaluating design fires for buildings. However, the availability of fuel load data is currently hindered by the lack of an efficient on-site data collection method. This research develops a new methodology for fuel load surveys that can facilitate the collection, storage, and analysis of fuel load data for a variety of building occupancies. The new survey method harnesses recent developments in mobile electronic devices, cloud storage, and machine vision to efficiently complete fuel load surveys in buildings. A four-step method is developed comprising digital inventory, data organization, item matching through computer vision, and fuel load estimation. The method is completed through an interactive electronic surveying form accessible on any mobile device with an internet connection, such as a tablet. The application allows taking digital measurements and pictures of the room and content, which are stored, and later searched through retail search engines using image recognition. Automatic matching of the picture with an online catalogue item gives access to further information about this item which are then used to evaluate the item fuel load, using a table of materials calorific values coded in the application. A wide adoption of this method could provide benefits by progressively populating such digital fuel load database. The results can then be used to provide design guidelines for fuel load density in codes and standards, for application in performance-based design of structures in fire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme fire events in tunnels can have catastrophic consequences, including loss of lives, structural damage, and major socioeconomic impacts. The fire scenario itself is one of the primary parameters that would influence the level of damage in a tunnel. Standard hydrocarbon fire temperature–time curves exist but they are idealized and do not consider the actual fire duration and potential for fire spread within the tunnel. Furthermore, risk-based decision-making frameworks and performance-based design of tunnel linings require realistic sets of fire scenarios to quantify damage. This paper focuses on quantifying uncertainties in the temperature–time evolution of railway tunnel fires considering fire spread between train cars. In this study, 540 numerical simulations are conducted in fire dynamics simulator by varying ventilation velocity, amount of fuel, tunnel slope, ignition point, and criteria for fire spread between railcars. Temporal and spatial distribution of fire temperature in the tunnel is studied. The resulting 540 temperature–time curves at sections with the highest temperature are analyzed and statistics of the maximum fire temperature and duration, heating rate, and decay rate are provided. Fires with heat release rates larger than 40 MW are categorized as high-intensity with mean maximum temperature of 1007°C. Fires with heat release rates smaller than 30 MW are categorized as low-intensity with a mean maximum temperature of 245°C. The proposed framework can be expanded in future to establish guidelines for temperature demands in the design of concrete tunnel linings within risk-based frameworks to achieve required performance levels in railway tunnel fire events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineered timber is an innovative and sustainable construction material, but its uptake has been hindered by concerns about its performance in fire. Current building regulations measure the fire performance of timber using fire resistance tests. In these tests, the charring rate is measured under a series of heat exposures (design fires) and from this the structural performance is deduced. Charring rates are currently only properly understood for the heat exposure of a standard fire, not for other exposures, which restricts the use of performance-based design. This paper studies the charring rates under a range of design fires. We used a multiscale charring model at the microscale (mg-samples), mesoscale (g-samples), and macroscale (kg-samples) for several wood species exposed to different heating regimes and boundary conditions. At the macroscale, the model blindly predicts in-depth temperatures and char depths during standard and parametric fires with an error between 5% and 22%. Comparing simulations of charring under travelling fires, parametric fires, and the standard fire revealed two findings. Firstly, their charring rates significantly differ, with maximum char depths of 42 mm (travelling), 46 mm (parametric), and 59 mm (standard fire), and one (standard fire) to four (travelling fire) charring stages (no charring, slow growth, fast growth, steady-state). Secondly, we observed zero-strength layers (depth between the 200 °C and 300 °C isotherm) of 7 to 12 mm from the exposed surface in travelling fires compared to 5 to 11 mm in parametric fires, and 7 mm in the standard fire. Both traditional design fires and travelling fires, therefore, need to be considered in structural calculations. These results help engineers to move towards performance-based design by allowing the calculation of charring rates for a wide range of design fires. In turn, this will help engineers to build more sustainable and safe structures with timber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water mist-based fire-extinguishing systems are gaining acceptance for the protection of ship machinery spaces. The use of simulation tools presents a great potential for taking a performance-based design (PBD) approach to these fire scenarios. The Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) is the most frequently used and validated fire modeling software; however, studies of low-pressure water mist fire suppression modeling in ship engine rooms are rare. This paper contributes to the current literature by using the FDS to model a series of fire suppression scenarios defined by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Circulars, including spray and pool fires with heptane and diesel oil, as well as exposed and obstructed fires. The simulation results are compared to data from full-scale tests conducted at recognized fire testing laboratories. Furthermore, an analysis of both the experimental and model uncertainties is carried out to assess the simulations performance. In general, a good agreement in compartment temperature evolution and fire extinguishing time is found for the modeled fire scenarios. The results support the application of FDS in a PBD approach for the design of water mist fire extinguishing systems for machinery spaces in ships. In this way, designers and engineers could model different machinery volumes and nozzles spacings that differ from those prescribed for a one story square engine room of the IMO, and, thus, predict the evolution of temperatures and extinguishing times for get the authorities approval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pedestrian evacuation models are often used to assess life safety in the performance-based design process within fire safety engineering. Within this paper, a summary of data collected via an international online survey regarding the models and users' experiences and needs is presented. This survey consisted of 22 questions focusing on: the assessment of the pedestrian evacuation model user community; their stated importance of model features to select a model; usage/awareness of models; knowledge of model validation and verification; training; and usage of multiple models. As such, the survey allowed the collection of information useful for instructing future pedestrian evacuation model development. The survey represents an expanded version of a previous survey conducted by the authors in 2011. Results with the previous survey were compared to identify any changes in preference and usage by pedestrian evacuation model users. The survey was completed by 234 respondents from 41 countries. The respondents had a wide range of education and occupational backgrounds and use models for a variety of different purposes. The results identified a total of 72 pedestrian evacuation models currently in use and indicated the most known models. In addition, the most used models were identified, and the results highlighted that the three key factors used to select a pedestrian evacuation model are overall consistent with the results of the 2011 survey: verification and validation, documentation, and data output of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Familiarity is widely accepted as a key variable for the exit route selection of occupants of a building in emergency egress, but how to evaluate it has not been well researched. In addition, familiarity with general space layout (building familiarity) and familiarity with exits (exit familiarity) are often interchangeably used, which may cause inappropriate understanding of building and occupant characteristics among fire engineers and architects. In the current study, a paper-based survey was conducted to examine the difference between the two familiarities in a six-story library building. The two familiarities were implicitly evaluated by the spatial knowledge of the participants on the locations of restrooms, elevators, stairways for exit purposes in an emergency, and their current location. Sixty-nine valid responses of the participants' spatial knowledge were semi-quantitatively evaluated based upon the accuracy of the answered position against the actual position. The results reveal that the two familiarities are not synonymous and needs to be understood and handled differently in fire engineering. In particular, the location of emergency-only exit stairways was perceived as low as 20% of non-emergency-only stairways; on average, each of the former and latter stairways was perceived by 8 and 33 participants out of 69 participants, respectively. This result raises concerns about the efficacy of the emergency-only-exit concept. The direction of the next destination out of a building was found to be a key factor to determine the travel route within a building where occupants have good familiarity with the building and surrounding places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, a modified multi-grid fire evacuation model (MG-Fire-Evac) was devised to study the influence of fire-related phenomena such as toxic smoke and heat on occupant evacuating from a burning building. The degree of injury suffered by the occupants is quantified in terms of "health points" (HPs) in the model. When a person's HP is less than 0.5 or 0.8, he or she is regarded as having succumbed to the fire (becoming a fatality or serious injury). A parameter is defined to represent the degree of influence of the fire on the occupants' movement, which is used to predict which of three possible kinds of egress is attempted. To decrease the degree of error in the data transferred between the fire simulation and egress model, a finer grid resolution is adopted in the new model. For the scenario examined, simulation results demonstrate that a higher fire load, longer pre-movement time, or narrower exit would all lead to more serious occupant injury in the event of a fire. Based on the MG-Fire-Evac model, a new building fire risk procedure is presented whereby it is possible to predict the death toll and number of serious injuries and to quantitatively evaluate evacuation plans. Compared to the conventional method, the new method is stricter and more scientific. The model and method presented herein will be useful for application to the performance-based design, assessment, and management of building fire safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the compilation of 35 fire load density surveys for office and residential buildings. Limited data can be obtained for contemporary buildings. Using recent fire load survey results and the Bayesian inference theory, probabilistic fire load density models are proposed for office buildings (up to 120 m2 floor area) and for residential buildings (up to 35 m2 floor area). These models predict that the mean fire load density decreases when the floor area becomes larger. Meanwhile, given floor area, the models indicate that the fire load density follows the lognormal distribution. Statistics of fire load density are then calculated and explicitly presented for a direct reference in fire safety design. Afterwards, these models are incorporated in the parametric temperature model presented in the Eurocode to predict the maximum temperature within fire compartments. Parameter uncertainties are also considered, including the variations in opening factor and thermal absorptivity of enclosure that are observed from 57 experiments. Based on the proposed fire load density models, building fire severity is estimated using empirical equation in the Eurocode considering the influence of these parameters. Monte Carlo simulations are performed to obtain the statistical values of the maximum temperature and fire severity. The results in this work can be used in a performance-based fire safety design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel performance-based methodology for the quantitative fire safe design of building assemblies including insulation materials has recently been proposed. This approach is based on the definition of suitable thermal barriers in order to control the fire hazards imposed by the insulation. Under this framework, the concept of 'critical temperature' has been used to define an initiating failure criterion for the insulation, so as to ensure there will be no significant contribution to the fire nor generation of hazardous gas effluents. This paper proposes a methodology to evaluate this 'critical temperature' using as examples some of the most common insulation materials used for buildings in the EU market, i.e. rigid polyisocyanurate foam, rigid phenolic foam, rigid expanded polystyrene foam and low density flexible stone wool. A characterisation of these materials, based on a series of ad-hoc Cone Calorimeter and thermo-gravimetric experiments, serves to establish the rationale behind the quantification of the critical temperature. The temperature of the main peak of pyrolysis, obtained from differential thermo-gravimetric analysis under a nitrogen atmosphere at low heating rates, is proposed as the 'critical temperature' for materials that do not significantly shrink and melt, i.e. charring insulation materials. For materials with shrinking and melting behaviour it is suggested that the melting point could be used as 'critical temperature'. Conservative values of 'critical temperature' proposed are 300°C for polyisocyanurate, 425°C for phenolic foam and 240°C for expanded polystyrene. The concept of a 'critical temperature' for the low density stone wool is examined in the same manner and found to be non-applicable due to the inability to promote a flammable mixture. Additionally, thermal inertia values required for the performance-based methodology are obtained for PIR and PF using a novel approach, providing thermal inertia values within the range 4.5 to 6.5 × 10 W s K m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structures are currently designed and constructed in accordance with prescriptive and performance-based (PBD) methodologies to ensure a certain level of occupant safety during fire emergencies. The performance-based approach requires the quantification of both ASET (Available Safe Egress Time) and RSET (Required Safe Egress Time) to determine the degree of safety provided. This article focuses on the RSET side of the equation, for which a fire protection or fire safety engineer would use some type of egress modelling approach to estimate evacuation performance. Often, simple engineering equations are applied to estimate the RSET value. Over time, more sophisticated computational tools have appeared-that go beyond basic flow calculations; e.g. simulating individual agent movement. Irrespective of the approach adopted, appropriate and accurate representation of human behavior in response to fire within these approaches is limited, mainly due to the lack of a comprehensive conceptual model of evacuee decision-making and behavior during fire emergencies. This article initially presents the set of behavioral statements, or mini-theories, currently available from various fire and disaster studies, organized using the overarching theory of decision-making and human behavior in disasters. Once presented, guidance is provided on how these behavioral statements might be incorporated into an evacuation model, in order to better represent human behavior in fire within the safety analysis being performed. The intent here is to improve the accuracy of the results produced by performance-based calculations and analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a procedure for the use of fire modelling in the performance-based design environment to quantify design fires for commercial buildings. This procedure includes building surveys, medium-and full-scale experiments and computer modelling. In this study, a survey of commercial premises was conducted to determine fire loads and types of combustibles present in these buildings. Statistical data from the literature were analysed to determine the frequency of fires, ignition sources, and locations relevant to these premises. Based on the results of the survey and the statistical analyses a number of fuel packages were designed that represent fire loads and combustible materials in commercial buildings. The fuel packages were used to perform medium- and full-scale, post-flashover fire tests to collect data on heat release rates, compartment temperatures and production and concentration of toxic gases. Based on the experimental results, input data files for the computational model, Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), were developed to simulate the burning characteristics of the fuel packages observed in the experiments. Comparative analysis between FDS model predictions and experimental data of HRR, carbon monoxide (CO), and carbon dioxide (CO), indicated that FDS model was able to predict the HRR, temperature profile in the burn room, and the total production of CO and CO for medium- and large-scale experiments as well as real size stores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance-based regulatory Systems (PBRS) are being implemented in many countries, replacing the traditional prescriptive systems. These PBRS are especially attractive for addressing in a rational way the special needs of unique buildings, and there are no more unique buildings than those of historical or cultural significance. Thus, performance approaches are well suited to finding the balance between the need to protect often-irreplaceable buildings and their contents and the desire to preserve the significant historical or cultural aspects of the building. In this article the authors will discuss some important considerations in using performance approaches in the development of a fire protection strategy for historical structures and will cite examples of how this was done in a recent restoration design of a historic theater in Bari, Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]