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Application of Acceptable Risk Principles to Performance Based Building and Fire Safety Code Development
Abstract
A risk is acceptable not if it meets a certain numerical threshold but rather whether the risk is properly managed. Building fire safety codes are tools to manage fire risk. Fire risk is therefore best managed by developing optimal fire safety codes. There are seven criteria that can be used to evaluate optimal regulations. These seven criteria can be used as principles in the development in a new performance based fire safety code.
... This is a result of having only a few fire safety engineering education programs: a situation that needs to change to meet the demands of performance-based regulatory systems world-wide. 87,88,89,90,91 Instead, there are large numbers of engineers who have practiced code-based design for years, and are not fully cognizant of the advances and limitations of the current state of the art. Even when qualified fire safety engineers are engaged, the lack of guidance documents, widely-accepted criteria, and evaluation methods makes each project different. ...
Over the past fifty years, fire safety engineering has grown and developed into an accepted, if not fully mature, engineering discipline. This has been possible for a variety of reasons, including an ever-increasing understanding of fire safety science, continuing development of analytical methods for engineering analysis and design, technological advances in computational tools, and the global movement towards performance-based building and fire regulations. This paper reviews the current state of fire safety engineering by looking at international experiences in the development and use of performance-based fire safety design methods. It discusses the impact of increasing scientific knowledge and the evolution of performance-based fire safety design methods and regulations, and it speculates on what will be required for fire safety engineering to reach maturity as an engineering discipline.
Building Fire Risk Analysis provides insight into how to enhance the design, construction and management of our built environment. Fire safety, as a concept, branches into all manner of fields. It can affecta building’s design & appearance, its capital and ongoing costs, its day-to-day functionality and above all the community or business it serves �“ in the event of a fire. Understanding risk is fundamental forconsultants, approval organizations, Fire Brigades, insurers and regulators. Fire risk is embedded within codes and guidance �“ where decisions have been made about what is reasonable and practicable for buildings based on their size and use. This chapter explores what risk is and how it may be understood for future decision making throughout the fire safety industry. Risk herein is defined as the possibility of an unwanted outcome in an uncertain situation. Three key factors are: loss or harm of something; the event(s) that causes loss; and, the likelihood it will occur. The unwanted outcome generally affects life safety, property, business continuity, heritage, the environment, or a combination of these. The reality of our built environment, both now and in the future, is that unwanted outcomes are subject to a variety of active, passive and managerial systems which all contribute to improving safety and reducing risk. Risk assessment allows these systems to be fairly understood and the best decisions made to address the needs required. © Society of Fire Protection Engineers 2016. All rights reserved.
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