Temperature‑Arousing Self‑Powered Fire Warning E‑Textile Based on p-n Segment Coaxial Aerogel Fibers for Active Fire Protection in Firefighting Clothing

Firefighting protective clothing is a crucial protective equipment for firefighters to minimize skin burn and ensure safety firefighting operation and rescue mission.A recent increasing concern is to develop self-powered fire warning materials that can be incorporated into the firefighting clothing to achieve active fire protection for firefighters before the protective clothing catches fire on fireground.However,it is still a challenge to facilely design and manufacture thermoelectric(TE)textile(TET)-based fire warning electronics with dynamic surface conformability and breathability.Here,we develop an alternate coaxial wet-spinning strategy to continuously produce alternating p/n-type TE aerogel fibers involving n-type Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)MXene and p-type MXene/SWCNT-COOH as core materials,and tough aramid nanofiber as protective shell,which simultaneously ensure the flexibility and high-efficiency TE power generation.With such alternating p/n-type TE fibers,TET-based self-powered fire warning sensors with high mechanical stability and wearability are successfully fabricated through stitching the alternating p-n segment TE fibers into aramid fabric.The results indicate that TET-based fire warning electronics containing 50 p-n pairs produce the open-circuit voltage of 7.5 mV with a power density of 119.79 nW cm-2 at a temperature difference of 300℃.The output voltage signal is then calculated as corresponding surface temperature of firefighting clothing based on a linear relationship between TE voltage and temperature.The fire alarm response time and flame-retardant properties are further displayed.Such self-powered fire warning electronics are true textiles that offer breathability and compatibility with body movement,demonstrating their potential application in firefighting clothing.

Thermal and Structural Behaviour of Offshore Structures with Passive Fire Protection

In offshore structures,hydrocarbon fires cause the structure to loose its rigidity rapidly and this leads to structural integrity and stability problems.The Passive Fire Protection(PFP)system slows the transfer rate of fire heat and helps to prevent the collapse of structures and human losses.The vital design factors are decided in the detailed design stage.The determined design thickness must be accurately applied in the fabrication yard.However,there are many cases that the PFP is overused because of various reasons.This excessive application of the PFP is an unavoidable problem.Several studies have been conducted on the efficient application and optimal design of the PFP.However,the strength of the PFP has not been considered.In addition,research studies on the correlation between the thickness of the PFP and the structural behaviour are not widely available.Therefore,this study attempts to analyse the thermal and mechanical effects of the PFP on the structure when it is applied to the structural member.In particular,it is intended to determine the change in the behaviour of the structural member as the thickness of the PFP increases.

Investigation on Fire Protection System of Highrise Buildings in the Context of Bir Uttam Aminul Haque Avenue in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Rapid high-rise building construction of different occupancies is becoming popular in Dhaka due to its economic gain and functional flexibility. Fire prevention poses a significant difficulty to this type of construction due to its complexity and economic worth as well. Therefore, construction of high-rise building without following the proper fire safety measures, is a common practice at present in the city and it poses a greater threat to urban life considering its associated loss. Even though, most of the owners or authorities do not respect the construction code and the majority of them lack sufficient awareness and basic fire control knowledge and practice. More often, they are unable to comprehend the magnitude and severity of severe fire hazards, and recognize the causes and implementing effective mitigation measures are rare. As a result, the number of fire hazard in high-rise construction is increasing day by day. Hence, investigating the present condition of high-rise buildings (already built) in terms of Fire Protection System is imperative to prevent the upcoming fire hazard. An urban chunk of 33 plots along with Bir Uttam Aminul Haque Avenue, located in Banani, has been chosen for the study area considering its vulnerability to fire hazard. Among these buildings, STAR Tower and HBR Tower, these two high-rise buildings are assessed thoroughly using FRI (Fire Risk Index) Method. The method is semi-quantitative in nature with seventeen parameters associated with fire protection. This assessment represents a scenario in what extent fire codes are being followed in the selected area. It concludes that most of the buildings lack in providing protection against fire hazards for not following the code strictly. This research provides some recommendations which can be followed to improve the fire safety measures in this existing context. It is expected that this research could be a unique addition to firefighting knowledge by contributing to mitigating the consequences of fire related hazards in any densely populated city like Dhaka.

Discussing the development of domestic and foreign fire protection technical regulation and fire protection technical standard systems

This paper reviews the composition, development, and operation mechanism of domestic and foreign fire protection technical regulations and standards. Considering the development and problems of China's fire protection standard system and fire protection technical standards, this paper recommends fire safety professional engineering design specialization, suggests key research fields pertaining to fire protection technical standards, and elucidates how a performance-based fire protection technical standard system can be established.

Risk Factors Associated with Non-Compliance with Respiratory Protection Programs among Firefighters

Non-compliance with respiratory protection programs among firefighters may put them at increased risk of injury and illness from occupational exposures during fire extinguishing activities. This research aims to characterize respiratory protection practices among Florida firefighters. This information will allow better understanding of factors that are associated with non-compliance with respiratory protection guidelines. A survey questionnaire was used to characterize Florida fire departments in this cross-sectional study. Four hundred and seventy-seven surveys were administered to Florida firefighters both in person and electronically to collect information regarding firefighter knowledge and participation in their respective respiratory protection programs during the past twelve months. Survey questions were developed from the model set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) which provides standards and regulations regarding firefighter protections. Summary statistics regarding firefighter department size, coverage area, and firefighter employment type were produced. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate factors that impact respiratory protection programs. The 477 respondents were 91% male with a mean age of 39 years old (range 21 - 65 years). The majority of respondents, 76%, were non-smokers, 21% former smokers, and 3% current smokers. In regard to ethnicity, respondents were 77% Caucasian, 13% Hispanic, 3% African American, and 4% other. Most respondents were career firefighters, 97%, with less than ten years of experience, 44%, working in a fire department with at least 21 firefighters, 98%. Most respondents, 80%, had a written respiratory program in place. The most cited reason for not having implemented a written respiratory protection program was lack of knowledge related to the program. Multinomial logistic regression analysis of departments with response areas of at least 250,000 square miles produced a statistically significant 0.444 (0.219 - 0.901 CI) odds ratio for having a written respiratory program as compared to those with a less than 10,000 square miles response area. Additional resources need to be given to Florida fire departments to ensure that all firefighters receive adequate respiratory protection in accordance with NFPA guidelines. There is an association between fire departments with large response areas and non-compliance with respiratory protection guidelines in regard to: having a written respiratory program, the frequency of respiratory fit testing, and the frequency of medical fitness testing. This suggests that rural fire departments need additional resources to ensure firefighters are adequately protected. Additional research should focus on why these differences exist in the rural fire departments. Respondents stating a lack of knowledge or no requirement for a written respiratory program suggest that future efforts should focus on respiratory protection education and training.

Intelligent fire information system based on 3D GIS

Background This work aims to build a comprehensive and effective fire emergency management system based on the Internet of Things(IoT)and achieve an actual intelligent fire rescue.A smart fire protection information system was designed based on the IoT.A detailed analysis was conducted on the problem of rescue vehicle scheduling and the evacuation of trapped persons in the process of fire rescue.Methods The intelligent fire visualization platform based on the three-dimensional(3D)Geographic Information Science(GIS)covers project overview,equipment status,equipment classification,equipment alarm information,alarm classification,alarm statistics,equipment account information,and other modules.The live video accessed through the visual interface can clearly identify the stage of the fire,which facilitates the arrangement of rescue equipment and personnel.The vehicle scheduling model in the system primarily used two objective functions to solve the Pareto Non-Dominated Solution Set Optimization:emergency rescue time and the number of vehicles.In addition,an evacuation path optimization method based on the Improved Ant Colony(IAC)algorithm was designed to realize the dynamic optimization of building fire evacuation paths.Results The experimental results indicate that all the values of detection signals were significantly larger in the smoldering fire scene at t=17s than the initial value.In addition,the probability of smoldering fire and the probability of open fire were relatively large according to the probability function of the corresponding fire situation,demonstrating that this model could detect fire.Conclusions The IAC algorithm reported here avoided the passages near the fire and spreading areas as much as possible and took the safety of the trapped persons as the premise when planning the evacuation route.Therefore,the IoT-based fire information system has important value for ensuring fire safety and carrying out emergency rescue and is worthy of popularization and application.

Determination of fire-access zones along road networks in firesensitive forests

Wild forest fires are one of the greatest environmental disasters affecting forest resources. Along the coastal zone of the Mediterranean region in Turkey, forested areas are classified as first-degree, fire-sensitive areas. Every year, thousands of hectares of forests have been destroyed in Turkey. In this study, fire-access zones were determined in the Mediterranean forests of Turkey, by utilizing geographic information systems （GIS） technology. The effective reach distance of fire hoses from both sides of roads was considered in order to delineate fireaccess zones. The effective reach distance can vary based on the technical capabilities and hydraulic capacity of fire trucks （minimum and maximum pressures on water pump）; terrain structures （uphill, downhill and flat）; and ground slope. These factors and their influences were studied in fire sensitive forest areas located in the eastern Mediterranean city of Kahramanmaras in Turkey. First, terrain structures on both sides of the road network and groundslope classes were determined based on GIS data layers. Then, fire access zones were delineated according to water pressure data, terrain structures, and ground-slope classes. The results indicated that 69.30 % of the forested areas were within the fire-access zones, while the rest of the forest was out of reach the fire hoses. The accessible areas were also calculated for forested areas with different fire- sensitivity degrees. The accessible areas were 69.59, 69.96, and 67.16 % for the forested areas that are sensitive to fires at the first, second, and third degrees, respectively. This finding has implications for the monitoring and management of fire threats in areas outside of the reach distance. The outside areas should receive extra attention and monitoring during the fire season so that fires are detected ahead of time and management has sufficient time to react. Besides, new roads should be considered for these areas in order to access more lands in a shorter amount of time.

Simulation of goaf heating law and the fire cooling effect during methane drainage in high level laneway

For spontaneous combustion possibilities under large flux methane drainage in the goal, dynamic permeability in combination with the Forchheimer nonlinear equation was used to solve the problem of 3D oxygen distribution, heating law in goaf and to forecast the effects of fire protection by taking the fifth section face of the No. 18 coal seam in Nanshan Coal Mine as the basis for this study. The results demonstrate that if the vertical position of the drainage laneway is so low as to cause serious air leakage, a high oxygen concentration area exists in the return side of the goaf, and there is also a high temperature region which has faster heating rate than in the other areas. The effect of methane drainage on goal heating can be alleviated dramatically by simultaneous plugging and nitrogen injection. The results show that gas data in the return side of the goaf must be detected carefully in the work face, which is of similar drainage arrangement. Therefore, comprehensive fire protection measures should be carried out if conditions permit.

Forest fire risk indices and zoning of hazardous areas in Sorocaba,Sao Paulo state,Brazil

This study compares the performance of three fire risk indices for accuracy in predicting fires in semideciduous forest fragments,creates a fire risk map by integrating historical fire occurrences in a probabilistic density surface using the Kernel density estimator(KDE)in the municipality of Sorocaba,Sao Paulo state,Brazil.The logarithmic Telicyn index,Monte Alegre formula(MAF)and enhanced Monte Alegre formula(MAF+)were employed using data for the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2016.Meteorological data and numbers of fire occurrences were obtained from the National Institute of Meteorology(INMET)and the Institute for Space Research(INPE),respectively.Two performance measures were calculated:Heidke skill score(SS)and success rate(SR).The MAF+index was the most accurate,with values of SS and SR of 0.611%and 62.8%,respectively.The fire risk map revealed two most susceptible areas with high(63 km^2)and very high(47 km^2)risk of fires in the municipality.Identification of the best risk index and the generation of fire risk maps can contribute to better planning and cost reduction in preventing and fighting forest fires.

High-value Applications of Nanocellulose

Nanocelluloses, obtained from the biopolymer cellulose, are a class of renewable functional nanomaterials with excellent properties and a broad range of applications. This review mainly illustrates practical and advanced applications of nanocellulose-based materials in the following categories.(1) Fire-resistant materials: in the section on these types of materials, the fireprotection property of nanocellulose/clay hybrid composites(clay nanopaper) is illustrated; oriented montmorillonite(MTM) provides barrier properties and low thermal conductivity whereas cellulose nanofibers(CNFs) impart favorable charring.(2) Thermal insulation materials: the best way to obtain materials with good heat insulation performance is to decrease the thermal conductivity of such materials.(3) Template materials: nanocellulose can direct the deposition and patterning of materials to form nanoparticles, nanowires, or nanotubes with improved properties.

Laser-induced Janus graphene/poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole)fabrics with intrinsic flame retardancy as flexible sensors and breathable electrodes for fire-fighting field

Conventional firefighting clothing and fire masks can protect firemen’s safety to a certain extent,whereas cannot perceive environmental hazards and monitor their physical status in real time.Herein,we fabricated two kinds of Janus graphene/poly(pphenylene benzobisoxazole)(PBO)fabrics by laser direct writing approach and evaluated their performance as intelligent firefighting clothes and fire masks.The results showed that the Janus graphene/PBO fabrics were virtually non-combustible and achieved the highest thermal protection time of 18.91 s ever reported in flame,which is due to the intrinsic flame-retardant nature of PBO fibers.The graphene/PBO woven fabrics-based sensor showed good repeatability and stability in human motion monitoring and NO_(2)gas detection.Furthermore,the piezoelectric fire mask was assembled with graphene/PBO nonwoven fabric as electrode layer and polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF)electrostatic direct writing film as piezoelectric layer.The filtration efficiency of the fire mask reaches 95%for PM_(2.5)and 100%for PM_(3.0),indicating its effective filtration capability for smoke particles in fires.The respiratory resistance of the piezoelectric fire mask(46.8 Pa)was lower than that of commercial masks(49 Pa),showing that it has good wearing comfort.Besides,the piezoelectric fire mask can be sensitive to the speed and intensity of human breathing,which is essential for indirectly reflecting the health of the human body.Consequently,this work provides a facile approach to fabricate next-generation intrinsic flame-retardant smart textiles for smart firefighting.

MULTI-STOREY RESIDENTIAL TIMBER CONSTRUCTION:CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN EUROPE

This is a research paper with a focus on technical aspects of timber and on recent case studies,discussing the use of timber as multi-frame for multi-level residential buildings in Europe.The authors see this as a relevant topic within the context of the current environmental debate and the use of sustainable materials and construction methods.The conclusion suggests that timber is a high performance construction material adequate for multi-storey residential buildings,even in an urban context.