TY - JOUR
T1 - Petri-net based simulation analysis for emergency response to multiple simultaneous large-scale fires
AU - Zhou, Jianfeng
AU - Reniers, Genserik
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - In the field of hazardous chemicals, there are many flammable materials located in different places within an industrial area. It is possible that major fires occur at the same time due to terrorism or vandalism (i.e. a security point of view). These fires might lead to domino effects at different locations around. Whether the fire emergency response preparedness, which is organized to fight against one of the fires, can handle the multiple fires, is studied in this article and a Petri-net based simulation approach is proposed. Through Petri-net based simulation, the process of fire-fighting can be revealed. A model of fighting against three fires is established, and the strategies of fire fighters staffing arrangements are analyzed. The results show that in most cases the distribution according to fire severity is better than the average distribution, but in some conditions the average distribution strategy prevails. Different backup staffing strategies are also compared, and the results indicate that the improvement by increasing staffing backups also depends on the fire conditions.
AB - In the field of hazardous chemicals, there are many flammable materials located in different places within an industrial area. It is possible that major fires occur at the same time due to terrorism or vandalism (i.e. a security point of view). These fires might lead to domino effects at different locations around. Whether the fire emergency response preparedness, which is organized to fight against one of the fires, can handle the multiple fires, is studied in this article and a Petri-net based simulation approach is proposed. Through Petri-net based simulation, the process of fire-fighting can be revealed. A model of fighting against three fires is established, and the strategies of fire fighters staffing arrangements are analyzed. The results show that in most cases the distribution according to fire severity is better than the average distribution, but in some conditions the average distribution strategy prevails. Different backup staffing strategies are also compared, and the results indicate that the improvement by increasing staffing backups also depends on the fire conditions.
KW - Counter-terrorism emergency
KW - Emergency response strategy
KW - Simulation analysis
KW - Simultaneous fires
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84958552615&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jlp.2016.01.026
DO - 10.1016/j.jlp.2016.01.026
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84958552615
SN - 0950-4230
VL - 40
SP - 554
EP - 562
JO - Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries: the international journal of chemical and process plant safety
JF - Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries: the international journal of chemical and process plant safety
ER -