Simulating the Spread of Smoke in Hostel Fires

Abstract:

Because public areas in Taiwan such as hostels, movie theaters, supermarkets, stadiums, and large entertainment venues are typically packed with people, when fires occur, the smoke and high heat often lead to human casualties. Therefore, the studies on fire dynamic characteristics are essential. In this paper, we studied a major fire accident occurred in one of Taipei’s major hostels, during which the lodgers awoke and attempted escape. This accident led to eight deaths; the victims either died from the burns they sustained or choked to death in their bedrooms or in the staircase. The fire accident resulted in the greatest amount of human casualties in Taipei over the past two decades. The fire dynamics simulator developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology was used in this study to analyze the fire dynamic field behavior. The data showed that the fire started in a room on the second floor and that the smoke spread to the entire building within approximately 3 min. Our simulation produced similar results. It is hoped that the findings can be used to improve the safety features and enhance the future fire protection designs of similar buildings so that the heavy human casualties and property losses would be greatly reduced.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volumes 1044-1045)
• Pages: 417-421
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.1044-1045.417
• Online since: October 2014
• Authors: Cherng Shing Lin, Ming En Wu, Hsin Chuan Huang
• Keywords: Fire, Smoke, Smoke Flow

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