A concept for estimating available safe egress time in fires

Cooper, Leonard Y.

doi:10.1016/0379-7112(83)90006-1

Cited by 75 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The actual RSET/ASET terminology itself and the mathematic relationship 'ASET > RSET' were first explicitly set forth by NIST's Cooper in 1983 [10]. Interestingly, Cooper was a fluid mechanics specialist and did no work on the RSET part of the equation.…”

Section: Development Of the Rset/aset Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

RSET/ASET, a flawed concept for fire safety assessment

2010

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SUMMARYFor the evaluation of occupant safety in the case of building fires, the Required Safe Egress Time/Available Safe Egress Time (RSET/ASET) concept has become widespread and is now commonly used in the fire safety engineering profession. It has also become commonly used by smoke detector (smoke alarm) manufacturers in assessing whether a particular detector technology is adequate. It is shown in this paper that the concept is intrinsically flawed and its use promotes the diminishment of fire safety available to building occupants. The concept innately ignores the wide variations in capabilities and physical condition of persons involved in fire. It is based on implicitly assuming that, after a brief period where they assess the situation and mobilize themselves, occupants will proceed to the best exit in a robotic manner. This assumption completely fails to recognize that there are very few fires, especially in residential occupancies, where occupants perished or were seriously injured who had endeavored to exit in this robotic manner. Instead, in the vast majority of fire death and serious injury cases, the occupants did not move in such a manner and their evacuation took longer than anticipated on the basis of robotic movement. There is a wide variety of reasons for this, and these are well known in the profession. The concept also ignores that there can be a wide variation in fire scenarios. The same building and the same fire protection features can be evaluated, but both RSET and ASET can change drastically, depending on the scenario used. The consequence of using the RSET/ASET concept for fire safety engineering or product design purposes is that fire deaths and injuries are permitted to occur, which are preventable.

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Section: Development Of the Rset/aset Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

RSET/ASET, a flawed concept for fire safety assessment

2010

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“…Another significant shift in the discipline came with the introduction of a method for quantification of fire safety in a building by estimating the available safe evacuation time (ASET), proposed by dr Cooper in the 1980s [28]. This concept is still the common approach to the estimation of fire safety related to human evacuation in the buildings.…”

Section: History Of Fire Modelling Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The philosophy of fire safety engineering in the shaping of civil engineering development

Węgrzyński

Sulik

2016

Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Sciences Technical Sciences

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Abstract. This paper presents modern application of fire safety engineering (FSE) in the shaping of civil engineering development. Presented scientific achievements of FSE become tools used in typical modern engineering workflow. Experience gained through successful implementations of these solutions is then further crafted into prescriptive laws that shape future fire safety. This diffusion of knowledge is limited by law requirements themselves, technical limitations, and yet unresolved challenges that are still being worked on by the researchers in this field. This paper aims to present the achievements of the FSE discipline that may and should be used by civil engineers and other participants of the building process. Explanations given for the choices of fire safety engineers allow a better understanding of their gravity by representatives of other engineering branches. That way it is possible to build empathy between different engineering disciplines, which may significantly improve both the building design process and safety of the buildings itself. The chosen framework of this paper is Appendix A to EU Construction Products Regulation defining basic goals for a fire safe building, with a possible application of FSE given for each of these goals. The current framework of performance-based FSE is presented in relation to the Polish legal system, with recommendations on how to improve both FSE and civil engineering in the future.Key words: fire safety engineering, fire protection engineering, fire protection, performance-based design, prescriptive codes. stakeholders who are not FSEs, may unwillingly influence the fire safety. This bidirectional connection requires a systematic, holistic approach to fire safety of a building, which is the essence of the philosophy of modern FSE. A sample of such approach, in the form of a framework for a good cooperation between fire experts and structural engineers, was presented by Abramowicz and Kowalski in [4]. Despite strict regulations and advanced design methodologies, supertall buildings or large road tunnels that can be considered the pinnacle of modern engineering are still the scene of catastrophic fire incidents. To reach the level of safety in which fires would cause no fatalities and limited damage, urgent problems beyond the quality of the design also have to be resolved, e.g. the slow diffusion of knowledge, the stress on reduction of fire protection cost, and abuse of overcomplicated methodologies, beyond their scope of application.

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“…As the plume flow continues, an upper gas layer develops, confined by the enclosed ceiling boundary, and grows in depth. The relatively sharp interface between it and the cool ambient air layer below continuously drops [ 4 ] .…”

Section: Experiments Using the Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of an automated probe positioner for measurements in fire-generated plumes and ceiling jets

Stroup¹

1986

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A concept for estimating available safe egress time in fires

Cited by 75 publications

References 8 publications

RSET/ASET, a flawed concept for fire safety assessment

RSET/ASET, a flawed concept for fire safety assessment

The philosophy of fire safety engineering in the shaping of civil engineering development

Development of an automated probe positioner for measurements in fire-generated plumes and ceiling jets

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