SIL's (Safety Integrity Levels) are used by IEC 61508:1998 [1] to characterise the required functional safety of computer control systems. For example, SIL 4, the highest rating is for fly by wire aircraft and weapons systems and track circuited train signalling systems while SIL 2 is typical of certain Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC). Fire control panels have not been SIL rated to date ev...

Since the 1970s, an increasing number of regulations have expanded the use of brominated and chlorinated flame retardants. Many of these chemicals are now recognized as global contaminants and are associated with adverse health effects in animals and humans, including endocrine and thyroid disruption, immunotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, cancer, and adverse effects on fetal and child developm...

In the US there were 400,000 home fires resulting in 2755 deaths, 12,450 injuries, and $6.9B lost. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the content-validity of photographs taken in the home for use as an educational instrument to teach about "safe" and "unsafe" fire safety practice for adults and older adults. A total of 73 home fire safety experts were provided 27 photographs to evaluate ...

Recent advances in guided ground transportation, fire test methods, and hazard analysis necessitate re-examination of requirements for fire safety. Several studies have indicated nearly random ability of current tests to predict actual fire behavior. A comparison of the approaches used in the United States, Germany, and France is presented. With the strengths and weaknesses of current methods f...

CONTEXT AND PURPOSE Rural households report high fire-related mortality and injury rates, but few studies have examined the risk factors for fires. This study aims to identify occupant and household characteristics that are associated with residential fires in a rural cohort. METHODS Of 1,005 households contacted in a single rural county, 691 (68.8%) agreed to participate. One household with ...

The development of fire safety research in road tunnels during the past 20 years is reviewed, with particular reference to the activity of the Flame Research Group at Politecnico di Torino (Italy). Simulations of fire accidents in tunnels are described for both full-scale tests in real tunnels and for laboratory-scale tests. It is shown how simple semiempirical thermo-fluid dynamic models are a...

Cultural heritages and historical buildings are vulnerable against severe threats from fire. Since the 1970s, ten fire-spread events involving historic buildings have occurred in Taiwan, affecting a total of 132 nearby buildings. Developed under the influence of traditional Taiwanese culture, historic buildings in Taiwan are often built using non-fire resistant brick-wood structure and located ...

aims: the occurrence of fire in residential buildings , commercial complexes and large and small industries cause physical, environmental and financial damages to many different communities. fire safety in hospitals is sensitive and it is believed that the society takes the responsibility to care sick people . the goal of this study was to use fire risk assessment method for engineering (frame)...