Fire Risk Assessment and Scenario Simulation for Employee Dormitory Buildings

Fire, as an unpredictable and highly destructive hazard, poses significant risks to densely populated environments such as employee dormitory buildings.This study aims to evaluate fire risks in such facilities and propose effective fire safety management strategies to enhance fire prevention capabilities and evacuation efficiency.An index system of fire risk influencing factors specific to employee dormitory buildings was established through an extensive review of relevant literature and field interviews.The Ordinal Priority Approach (OPA), a multi-attribute decision analysis method based on ordinal data, was employed to quantify the weights of these influencing factors using a linear programming model.Subsequently, fire scenarios were simulated using PyroSim software, focusing on the top two critical influencing factors to assess evacuation times and safety conditions.The analysis identified the condition of fire-fighting facilities, ventilation within dormitory buildings, the use of high-power electrical appliances, and smoking behaviors among employees as key determinants of fire risk.The simulation results indicated that visibility during a fire significantly affects the available safe evacuation time.While natural ventilation was found to moderately mitigate fire spread, its impact was less pronounced compared to the effectiveness of automatic sprinkler systems.The reliability of the simulation outcomes was further validated through expert interviews, ensuring the practical applicability of the findings.Based on the outcomes of risk analysis and scenario simulations, several fire safety improvement measures were proposed.These include upgrading fire-fighting facility standards, optimizing natural ventilation systems, and implementing comprehensive fire safety education and training programs.The insights derived from this research provide a robust scientific foundation and actionable recommendations for the fire risk management of employee dormitory buildings.