A Fire Risk and Protection Cost Assessment Model for Highrise Apartment Buildings

Abstract

This paper describes a stochastic system model that was developed to represent the dynamic interaction between human behavior and fire growth and spread in highrise apartment buildings. The effects of the smoke and fire spread are calculated in terms of two performance parameters: the expected risk-to-life (ERL) and the fire-cost expectation (FCE). These performance parameters are used to assess the cost-effectiveness of fire safety and protection provisions in highrise apartment buildings. The system model can be used as a tool to assess whether alternative designs provide equivalent safety and whether these alternative designs are cost effective. As an example, the model is applied to a 28-storey apartment building where the cost-effectiveness of 9 different combinations of alarm and sprinkler systems is assessed.