Simulation research on the characteristics of fire smoke spread and personnel evacuation in the railway passenger station

Abstract As crucial nodes in railway transportation networks, railway passenger stations can suffer significant casualties and adverse societal impacts during fire accidents. A numerical simulation test was conducted on fire smoke spread and personnel evacuation in a railway passenger station. The results indicate that the structural span and floor height of the passenger terminal influence the smoke conditions at a height of 1.8 m such that the critical thresholds for smoke visibility, smoke temperature and carbon monoxide (CO) concentration are not surpassed. However, the smoke in the vicinity of a fire source can affect the surrounding environment. Notably, within each waiting hall, the spatial extent of the influence of smoke temperature is broader than that of smoke visibility and CO concentration. Moreover, the orthogonal test analysis reveals that the factors influencing personnel evacuation time, in descending order of impact, are the number of gates opened, personnel density, baggage weight and personnel ratio. The number of gates opened is the key factor affecting safe personnel evacuation, with at least three gates needing to be opened to meet safety requirements for evacuation. In addition, a nonlinear prediction equation is established to relate the personnel evacuation time to various influencing factors, and its prediction accuracy is found to be more pronounced when the evacuation duration exceeds 100 s. Furthermore, regardless of the specific waiting hall where the fire originated or the effectiveness of the automatic sprinkler system, the smoke temperature has the most prominent influence on the time required for safe evacuation.