Determining and Analyzing Factors Affecting Fire Safety Based on Fire Risk Assessment Method for Engineering and Providing Control Solutions: A Case Study in a Hospital



Salari S¹ ; Soltani A² ; Nadim Qaziany M¹ ; Karimi A¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Journal of Health and Safety at Work Published:2024

Abstract

Introduction: Fire safety in healthcare centers is crucial due to the limited evacuation capacity of the occupants and the necessity of not disrupting the operation in these centers. In this study, the fire risk of a public hospital was evaluated using the Fire Risk Assessment Method for Engineering (FRAME). Additionally, the factors affecting fire safety in the hospital were analyzed quantitavely, and fire control strategies were presented. Material and Methods: First, the fire risk assessment checklist was filled in all the hospital departments. Then, the values of the factors affecting fire safety were obtained. In the next step, the fire risk for the building, occupants and activities were estimated using Excel software-FRAME. Finally, control strategies and intervention measures were presented based on the value of these factors. Results: In the hospital under study, 22% of the departments posed an undesirable fire risk to the building and its property. On the other hand, 90% of the departments had risk levels that were undesirable for the occupants. The results of the initial risk (R0) showed that a balance between potential fire risk and risk acceptance can be established by implementing manual fire extinguishing systems and automatic detectors in all departments. Conclusion: ased on the condition of the hospital studied, a balance between potential fire risk level and risk acceptance level was not established. Therefore, there is a need for fire control measures, especially fire safety measures for the occupants. The results of this study can be useful for readers and experts in interpreting fire risk assessments and presenting detailed control measures based on the risk assessment and the value of the parameters. © 2024 The Authors.