TABLE OF CONTENTS The control mechanisms and organizational arrangements used at present in technologically advanced countries to respond to the threat of fires in buildings have obviously been largely successful, resulting in a very low death rate and comparatively low financial losses from building fires.
Historically, prescriptive building regulations have been an important component in design for fire safety in buildings. It is acknowledged that prescriptive design has resulted in the achievement of safety levels which the community appears to accept. Accordingly, it is appropriate to require that in the development of alternative designs for building fire safety and protection existing levels of protection should be maintained. However, that design approach does not generally result in the most cost-effective design solutions, nor in designs that maintain a consistent level of safety.
In recent years, there has been a shift in design procedures for fire safety towards performance-based design. Instead of conforming to building regulations prescriptions, the design attempts to achieve a satisfactory performance of the fire fighting system. See for example Ref. [50]. Performance-based design has achieved wide acceptance as an alternative approach to prescriptive regulation in recent years.
The major objective of design for the effect of fire in buildings is to achieve satisfactory levels of life safety for:
Occupants of the building of fire origin
Occupants of adjoining buildings
Fire brigade personnel.
The level of fire safety in buildings is a reflection of the complex interaction between fire growth and spread and...
