Fire Authorities Research Articles

Assessment of Fire Safety Preparedness and Risk Management in Caleb University Hostels

Fire safety in university hostels is a critical concern, particularly in developing countries where resources and awareness may be limited. This study evaluates the effectiveness of fire safety measures in student hostels at Caleb University, Lagos, highlighting the current state of fire safety protocols and identifying areas for improvement. Employing a descriptive research design, the study gathered data from 329 respondents, including students and hostel staff, through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that while basic fire safety measures such as fire extinguishers are present, awareness and confidence in fire safety protocols among students are alarmingly low. A significant percentage of respondents (61.8%) expressed doubts about the effectiveness of existing measures, and only 6.7% reported participating in fire drills or training sessions. Furthermore, the study identified critical weaknesses in the current fire safety protocols, with 56.8% of students having experienced fire-related incidents during their residence. The research underscores the necessity for regular fire safety training, improved equipment maintenance, and enhanced communication of emergency procedures to ensure the safety and preparedness of hostel occupants. Recommendations include implementing mandatory fire drills, increasing the number of safety equipment, and collaborating with local fire authorities to develop comprehensive fire safety programs. This study contributes to the existing literature on fire safety in university settings and emphasizes the need for effective strategies tailored to the unique challenges faced by educational institutions.

Catalytic Decontamination of Carbon Monoxide Using Strong Metal–Support Interactions on TiO2 Microparticles

The traditional catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) using metal oxide catalysts often requires either high temperatures (thermocatalysis) or ultraviolet light (UV) excitation (photocatalysis), limiting practical applications under ambient conditions. Our research aimed to develop a catalytic system capable of oxidizing CO to CO2 at room temperature and in the dark. Using the Strong Metal–Support Interaction (SMSI) methodology, several titanium oxide (TiO2)-complexed metals were prepared (Ag, Au, Pd, and Pt). The highest catalytic efficiency of CO oxidation at room temperature was demonstrated for the TiO2-Pt complex. Therefore, this complex was further examined structurally and functionally. Two modes of operation were addressed. The first involved applying the catalytic system to remove CO from an individual’s environment (environmental system), while the second involved the installation of the catalysis chamber as a part of a personal protection unit (e.g., a mask). The catalytic activity exhibited a significant reduction in CO levels in both the environmental and personal protection scenarios. The practical application of the system was demonstrated through efficient CO oxidation in air emitted from a controlled fire experiment conducted in collaboration with the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority.

Assessment of Fire Safety Measures in On-Campus Housing Facilities

Universities, including Caleb University, offer various on-campus housing options, such as hostels and private residences. Ensuring fire safety in these facilities is paramount for the protection of students, staff, and property. This study investigates the fire safety measures in place at Caleb University's male hostel, examining both the physical infrastructure and the awareness and training of residents and staff. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combines a physical inspection of fire safety equipment and infrastructure with semi-structured interviews to assess the comprehensiveness of fire safety protocols and awareness programs. The findings reveal significant gaps in both the awareness and implementation of fire safety measures. Only 33% of the staff and 69% of students are aware of any fire safety programs, and 86% of the staff and 65% of the students lack knowledge of evacuation protocols. These deficiencies highlight the need for structured and mandatory fire safety training, regular drills, and clear communication of evacuation procedures. Recommendations include the development of comprehensive fire safety programs, integration of fire safety education into the curriculum, regular maintenance of fire safety equipment, and partnerships with local fire safety authorities. Implementing these measures can improve the safety and preparedness of Caleb University’s residential facilities, providing a safer living environment for all residents.

АНАЛИЗ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ ОРГАНОВ ДОЗНАНИЯ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО ПОЖАРНОГО НАДЗОРА ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЙ ПРОТИВОПОЖАРНОЙ СЛУЖБЫ ПО ОСУЩЕСТВЛЕНИЮ ДОЗНАНИЯ ПО ДЕЛАМ О ПОЖАРАХ ЗА 2023 ГОД

The authors show the statistics of the work of the state fire supervision authorities of the EMERCOM of Russia for 2023. The article reflects statistics on the number of accepted reports of crimes, considered reports of crimes, on the number of criminal cases on fires under articles 168, 219 and 261 of the Criminal code of the Russian Federation. Data on the number of suspended criminal cases on fires, solved criminal cases on fires, the amount of property damage in fire cases in 2023 are shown. The authors show typical violations in the investigation of criminal cases on fires.

Структурно-статистический анализ работников промышленных предприятий, пострадавших при пожарах

Personal characteristics of employees of enterprises affected by fires at industrial facilities in 2020–2022 depending on their risk category have been analyzed. The industrial facilities are divided into three groups: facilities not subject to classification; facilities of low-risk category not subject to scheduled supervision and control by the state fire safety supervision authorities; and facilities of extremely high, high, significant, medium, and moderate risk subject to scheduled control (supervision). The most common cause of fatalities was poisoning with toxic combustion products of fires (47.7 % of cases). This was the cause of 59 % of cases at the facilities of the 2nd group of risk and only 26.5 % of cases of the 1st group. Among the conditions that contributed to fatalities during fires, is untimely evacuation as a result of alcoholic (narcotic) intoxication. This condition is relevant for the facilities of the 1st and 2nd groups in 34.1 and 36.8 % of cases respectively, whereas for the facilities of the 3rd group, it is only 20.3 % of cases. In 67.3 % of cases, fatalities occurred before the arrival of firefighting subdivisions. Among the conditions contributing to injuries, the most common is the damage by the associated manifestations of fire hazardous factors as a result of explosions with a share of 16.4 %. Injuries caused by explosions occurred at the facilities of the 3rd group in 19.3 % of cases, whereas for the facilities of the 2nd group, it is only 8 % of cases. In the majority of cases, injuries caused mild body harm in 56 % of cases; severe harm was induced in 16.9 % of cases. The analysis has shown that, when implementing occupational safety measures at enterprises, drilling of personnel’s actions in case of activation of fire alarm and fire evacuation system, ensuring mental stability of personnel in case of potential fires and psychological readiness to act in conditions of panicking crowd must be provided as the majority of fatalities of employees are registered before the arrival of firefighting subdivisions. Special attention must be paid to the enterprises not subject to scheduled supervision and control.

ТЕНДЕНЦИИ РАЗВИТИЯ ПОЖАРНОГО НАДЗОРА

The key features of the modified form of implementation of supervisory activities by state fire supervision authorities are considered, related both to the exclusion from the plan of carrying out planned control (supervisory) activities in relation to objects of protection with an assigned risk category below «high», and with the fact that in order to carry out unscheduled control (supervisory) activities, a reasoned and justified decision of the supervisory authority is required, supported by the occurrence of one of the grounds in the list established by clause 3, part (a) of the Government Resolution Russian Federation «On the features of the organization and implementation of state control». The problem of the increase in the number of fires is touched upon at protection facilities of a significant risk category. It has been stated that only subject to an integrated approach to compliance with the procedure and rules for certification of specialists, as well as effective control and supervision by the competent authorities, together with the introduction of a number of specific liability measures, can positive results in the field of fire safety be expected. It is concluded that the principles of the modern approach to ensure fire safety are based on strengthening the institution of responsibility on the part of persons carrying out commercial activities in this area.

건축물 화재안전에 관한 관련법상 연구

Every time a major fire incident occurs, such as the Seocheon Specialized Market fire incident in South Chungcheong Province on January 22, 2024, the fire safety management authorities, including the central government (Ministry of Public Administration and Security, National Fire Agency) and local governments (local governments, fire stations), have revised organizations, mechanisms, and laws and promised to prevent recurrence. However, they are unable to effectively manage fire safety due to overlapping duties between fire safety management departments, dual regulations in fire-related laws, deficiencies in on-site command systems, and the public's insensitivity to disaster safety. Protecting the lives, bodies, and property of citizens from various unexpected fires aligns with the objectives of the「Constitution」,「Basic Fire Fighting Act」,「Fire-related Laws」, and「Building- related Laws」. This paper aims to present the problems and improvement directions of the laws related to fire safety management in buildings, followed by personal opinions and methods for enhancing public fire safety awareness and conducting education.

ПРОБЛЕМНЫЕ ВОПРОСЫ, КАСАЮЩИЕСЯ ДЕЙСТВИЙ ОРГАНОВ ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОГО ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО ПОЖАРНОГО НАДЗОРА НА СТАДИИ ЭКСПЛУАТАЦИИ МЕТРОПОЛИТЕНОВ

The actual problem of improving the fire safety requirements that determine the actions of supervisory authorities at the stage of operation of subways is considered. The purpose of the work was to analyze issues related to the actions of federal state fire supervision. The research method was the analysis of statistics and problematic issues of the actions of the federal state fire supervision authorities. The distinctive features of subways from other objects of transport infrastructure are considered on the basis of statistical data relating, among other things, to the implementation of passenger transportation.
 As a result of the study, a list of problematic issues that arise in the implementation of supervisory activities at the stage of operation of subways was determined, and a scientific justification was made for approaches to the development of technical requirements necessary to solve them. Recommendations are given for improving supervisory activities and introducing changes to the current regulatory documentation.

Федеральный государственный пожарный надзор: проблемы привлечения к административной ответственности физических лиц в связи с изменением законодательства

The article is devoted to the problems associated with bringing to administrative responsibility individuals (citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens and stateless persons) who do not belong to the category of controlled persons for violation of fire safety requirements. The analysis of legislative acts that are the basis for possible administrative impact by the state fire supervision authorities, including the wording of the norm of part 31 of Article 28.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, which provides for the possibility of bringing to administrative responsibility only after conducting a control (supervisory) event in cooperation with a controlled person. The result of the conducted systematic analysis of regulatory legal acts was the conclusion that this norm does not apply to individuals who are not controlled persons under the law In order to unambiguously understand the norm of part 31 of Article 28.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, the need for state control (supervision) bodies to fulfill their powers, including state fire supervision, the authors formulated proposals to amend the said Code and the Federal Law “On Fire Safety”.

Incorporating Socio-Economic Factors in Maximizing Two-Dimensional Demand Coverage and Minimizing Distance to Uncovered Demand: A Dual-Objective MCLP Approach for Fire Station Location Selection

In this study, we employ a dual-objective optimization model, utilizing the Implicit Modified Coverage Location Problem (MCLP-Implicit) approach, to determine an appropriate fire station allocation. Our objectives encompass maximizing coverage in areas with a heightened projected demand, based on socioeconomic predictors of building fires, and concurrently minimizing the distance of uncovered demand zones to the closest fire station. The challenges of this model reflect the criticality of strategic placement, aiming for not just swift response times but also the complete coverage of a region with priority given to subregions with a pronounced potential for incidents. The applicability of the proposed approach is demonstrated through a case study in south-east Queensland. Our findings indicate that there is a tangible justification for adopting this model. The broader coverage and wider spread of locations it produces can greatly aid in the dynamic deployment of personnel during surges caused by seasonal fluctuations or unforeseen calamities. By weaving in socioeconomic aspects into demand predictions, our model has also maintained appropriate coverage to socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in the region. Nevertheless, it is paramount to underline the recommendation that further research should account for road connectivity—a pivotal factor when pinpointing these locations in the real world. This research paves the way for enriched insights in long-term urban planning and fire response protocol crafting, especially in regions mirroring similar socioeconomic profiles or risks of natural disasters, not to mention its commercial implications to the relevant industry servicing the fire and rescue authorities.

Division of the tropical savanna fire season into early and late dry season burning using MODIS active fires

Tropical savannas and grasslands are the most frequently burned biome in the world, and fire has an important role in sustaining ecosystem processes. Modern management of fires in savannas has roots in traditions stretching back centuries, and nowadays earth observation data is incorporated extensively in fire management practices. In tropical savannas in particular strongly seasonal monsoonal climates allow relatively low severity prescribed burning in the early part of the dry season (EDS) with the goal of preventing more destructive late dry season (LDS) fires. In many regional contexts it is common that a specific, fixed date is used officially to indicate when the window of safe burning has expired and the EDS transitions to the LDS, based on the experience of local or regional fire management authorities. This approach, while practical, neglects inter-annual variability in meteorological conditions and timing of onset of more dangerous fire weather. In this study, we pro-pose a remote sensing-based method for determining when this EDS window expires for five savanna-dominated continental-scale regions. By taking ad- vantage of the fact that conditions allowing night-time burning occur later in the dry season, we use day and night-time active fire detections from the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments to set a flexible date of transition between the EDS and LDS. The vast majority of tropical savannas have very variable (std. dev. ≈ 20–40 days) transition dates, though this is somewhat modulated by fire frequency. Fuel connectivity rather than fuel condition appears to be a strong driving factor behind this variability. We find that especially national parks and protected areas have a high proportion of potentially more severe burning in the LDS, though areas with well-established EDS burning programmes are reducing this impact.

Current state and improvement prospects of warehouse workers health and safety practices in Bulgarian manufacturing and trading organizations

Occupational health and safety (OHS) of warehouse workers is a crucial issue for warehouse managers. The importance of OHS practices has increased over recent years due both to high levels of fatal accidents in the logistics industry, and chronic shortage of labor in the sector, which requires systematic efforts to reduce absenteeism and increase warehouse employee motivation. This article aims to address the current state of some fundamental OHS practices of warehouse workers in Bulgarian manufacturing and trading organizations, and to outline some recommendations for their future improvements. The data were collected using the questionnaire survey method among 91 manufacturing and trading organizations in Bulgaria, which operate warehouses, and were processed using Chi-square analysis. The results show that the share of trading organizations, which implement OHS practices is lower, in comparison with surveyed manufacturing organizations. In addition, small organizations lag behind medium and large regarding the use of fundamental measures to protect warehouse workers. The main research findings indicate that there is a need to expand the frequency of OHS practices applied in trading organizations through a wider implementation of joint firefighting drills with fire and emergency safety authorities, adaptation of warehouse infrastructure, clear designation of emergency exits and placement of signs/work instructions for safe work at workplaces. Furthermore, it is critical to increase the use of appropriate work clothing and personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as to provide regular safety briefings in trading warehouses and small organizations.

Аналитическая методика обоснования оптимальной периодичности плановых проверок противопожарного состояния производственных и складских зданий

The purpose of the work is to analyze the statistical information about fires to establish the dependence of the number of fires in the industrial and warehouse buildings on the frequency of scheduled inspections and, on this basis, to develop a methodology for justifying the optimal frequency of scheduled inspections of their fire safety status by the federal state fire supervision authorities of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia. For the first time, the mathematical models were obtained to determine the number of fires at industrial and warehouse protection facilities depending on the time elapsed since the last inspection, as well as to determine the number of fires at these protection facilities depending on the frequency of their scheduled inspections. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that for the first time, on a scientific basis, an original method for substantiating the optimal frequency of scheduled fire safety inspections of industrial and warehouse protection facilities was developed and tested. The data obtained allows to substantiate on a scientific basis: the optimal frequency of scheduled inspections of the fire safety condition of industrial and warehouse buildings; the belonging of these objects of protection to the appropriate risk category, depending on the required frequency of their scheduled inspection; the required number of personnel of the federal state fire supervision bodies of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for timely and high-quality inspection of the supervised protection objects. The results of the work also make it possible to justify the need to amend the Regulations on the Federal State Fire Supervision, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated April 12, 2012, № 290, in terms of establishing an alternative method to the Federal Law dated July 31, 2020, № 248-FZ for justifying the frequency of scheduled control (supervision) activities in relation to the objects of control and their assignment to the appropriate risk category.

Forest Wildfire Detection from Satellite Images using Deep Learning

Forest wildfires pose a significant threat to ecosystems, human lives, and infrastructure, and this project presents a deep learning-based approach for the early detection of forest wildfires from satellite images, employing data preprocessing, model training, and inference steps, where satellite images are pre-processed to enhance features and reduce noise, a deep learning model is trained using convolutional neural networks on a large dataset of labelled images, and the trained model is applied to new images in a sliding window manner to detect potential wildfire regions and generate a heatmap for visualization, resulting in a high accuracy detection system that surpasses traditional methods and aids in early warning and decision-making for fire management authorities

A survey of fire accidents during the process of highway tunnel operation in China from 2010 to 2021: Characteristics and countermeasures

China has the largest number of highway tunnels in the world and the most rapid development in this scope. Along with the advancement of highway tunnels, fire incidents continue increasing, causing significant damages to life and property safety. The knowledge of characteristics of highway tunnel fire accidents is essential for the fire authorities to update their safety policies on tunnels and also useful for the scholars to carry out basic and applicable researches. Previous studies have been performed on fire accident statistics in highway tunnels before 2016. The dataset after 2016 are unknown. To solve this problem, the present study examined total 256 fire incidents in Chinese highway tunnels during 2010–2021 based on police-reported database. The results showed that the fire number in 2017–2021 is almost three times that in 2010–2016. The fires occur more in spring and summer. The majority of fires occur in the long and extra-long tunnels (80%), in the one-way tunnels (90%), in the curved tunnels (70%), in the interior zone of tunnels (67.2%) and in the low altitude areas (60%). The top two burning vehicle types are heavy goods vehicles (HGVs, 38.1%) and passenger cars (37.2%). A total of 81.2% of fatalities in highway tunnel fires are associated with HGVs. The head of vehicle (41.8%), tire (25.3%) and goods (15.3%) are the top three causes of fire. Despite the fact that 92.7% of cases are single fire category while spread fire category only accounts for 7.3%, the spread fire has a more than 7 times higher casualty rate than the single fire. Based on the results, some useful fire safety measures for highway tunnels are proposed. It is hoped that this work could provide some data supports and references for tunnel fire safety and relative policy-making.

A comparative study of governance changes on the perceptions of accountability in Fire and Rescue Services in England

AbstractPublic organizations are increasingly held accountable by multiple institutions and standards. This study explores how key actors perceive accountability changes in Fire and Rescue Services in England. However, few studies have examined perceptions of accountability where long‐established governance arrangements are changing. The UK's Policing and Crime Act 2017 provided for a new model of governance in the form of a single directly elected commissioner to replace the traditional indirectly elected fire authority. This study uses a comparative multiple case study design to understand the impact of the governance arrangements on individuals' perceptions of accountability within each service. It adds to the wider understanding of the influences of institutional structures on individuals' perceptions and actions, and it demonstrates that accountability perceptions change depending on the way public services are governed.

Effect of Interlayer Materials on Fire Performance of Laminated Glass Used in High-Rise Building: Cone Calorimeter Testing

Laminated glass is prominently used nowadays as building construction material in the façade and architectural glazing of high-rise buildings. On the other hand, the fire safety of the high-rise building with laminated glass is also receiving more attention from the fire safety regulatory authorities and researchers due to recent fire incidents. Different interlayer polymeric materials are used in modern laminated glass to prevent the breakage of the glass façade, which can also increase the fire risk through a lower ignition time, and higher heat release and smoke production. Therefore, further research is required to understand the fire behaviour of laminated glass. In this study, the fire performance of the laminated glass has been investigated using cone calorimeter testing and the effect of different parameters such as glass thickness (6, 10, 12 mm), interlayer materials (PVB, SGP and EVA) and heat flux (25, 50 and 75 kW/m2) on the fire behaviour of laminated glass has been studied. It is found that the glass thickness, interlayer material and heat flux can significantly influence the reaction-to-fire properties such as peak heat release rate (pHRR), total heat release, time to ignition, and smoke production of laminated glass. In addition, total smoke production (TSP) is also very high for PVB (3.146 m2) and SGP (3.898 m2) laminated glass compared to EVA (0.401 m2) laminated glass and it is affected by these parameters. Finally, a simplified equation is developed to predict the pHRR of laminated glass by correlating the mass loss and external heat flux.

Examining the potential of mobile applications to assist people to escape wildfires in real-time

Over the past couple of decades, the number of wildfires and area of land burned around the world has been steadily increasing, partly due to climatic changes and global warming. Therefore, there is a high probability that more people will be exposed to and endangered by forest fires. Hence there is an urgent need to design pervasive systems that effectively assist people and guide them to safety during wildfires. This paper examines the potential of mobile applications to be employed to assist people to escape wildfires in real-time, by means of using and evaluating EscapeWildFire, a system for suggesting evacuation paths to mobile phone users in real-time. Two different evaluation strategies are followed: (a) Considering different areas of the island of Cyprus as case studies with simulated wildfires and actual users and (b) Considering a historic wildfire that occurred in Amarillo, Texas in 2011. Results in both cases show that mobile apps can effectively be employed to assist people to escape wildfires, but their use is heavily dependent on a backend system that supports the precise modelling of the wildfire. The time between the wildfire outbreak and the notification reaching the user is crucial for their safety. Various recommendations for improvements have been recorded based on either the feedback of participants in the case studies or the observations from the Texas wildfire. The code of the mobile app, backend and administration interface used are all open-source; fire authorities around the world are encouraged to further investigate this opportunity and adopt this approach.

Large-scale burn severity mapping in multispectral imagery using deep semantic segmentation models

Nowadays Earth observation satellites provide forest fire authorities and resource managers with spatial and comprehensive information for fire stabilization and recovery. Burn severity mapping is typically performed by classifying bi-temporal indices (e.g., dNBR, and RdNBR) using thresholds derived from parametric models incorporating field-based measurements. Analysts are currently expending considerable manual effort using prior knowledge and visual inspection to determine burn severity thresholds. In this study, we aim to employ highly automated approaches to provide spatially explicit damage level estimates. We first reorganize a large-scale Landsat-based bi-temporal burn severity assessment dataset (Landsat-BSA) by visual data cleaning based on annotated MTBS data (approximately 1000 major fire events in the United States). Then we apply state-of-the-art deep learning (DL) based methods to map burn severity based on the Landsat-BSA dataset. Experimental results emphasize that multi-class semantic segmentation algorithms can approximate the threshold-based techniques used extensively for burn severity classification. UNet-like models outperform other region-based CNN and Transformer-based models and achieve accurate pixel-wise classification results. Combined with the online hard example mining algorithm to reduce class imbalance issue, Attention UNet achieves the highest mIoU (0.78) and the highest Kappa coefficient close to 0.90. The bi-temporal inputs with ancillary spectral indices work much better than the uni-temporal multispectral inputs. The restructured dataset will be publicly available and create opportunities for further advances in remote sensing and wildfire communities.

Модели и алгоритмы поддержки приятия решений по расчету материального ущерба от пожаров на транспортных средствах

Transport security occupies an important place in the system of sustainable functioning of a smart city. Ground electric transport is one of the main passenger carriers within cities. The constant development of technologies in the field of transport and information leads to the need to pay more attention to the problems existing in this industry. The article explores the issues of information support for officials of the state fire supervision authorities of the EMERCOM of Russia on the basis of decision support on the calculation of material damage from fires using the example of calculating damage as a result of the destruction of vehicles. A mathematical model for calculating material damage from a fire on a vehicle is considered in accordance with the Methodological Recommendations on the organization of the calculation of material damage from fires of the EMERCOM of Russia. An algorithm and a software tool for calculating material damage caused by fire to vehicles are presented. Calculations of material damage as a result of the destruction (damage) of a vehicle by fire using a software tool are carried out and conclusions are drawn about the adequacy and correctness of the methods and algorithms used to support decision-making by officials of the state fire supervision authorities of the EMERCOM of Russia.