A forensic analysis of a fatal fire in an indoor shooting range using coupled fire and evacuation modelling tools

Coupled fire and evacuation computer simulations are used to numerically reconstruct a fatal fire that occurred in an indoor shooting range in Korea in 2009. Of the 16 occupants, 15 were killed and one survived. The analysis demonstrates that this approach can accurately reproduce the outcome of thi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fire safety journal 2017-07, Vol.91, p.892-900
Main Authors: Wang, Zhaozhi, Jia, Fuchen, Galea, Edwin Richard, Choi, Jun-Ho
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Casualties
Cladding
Computer simulation
Evacuation
Evacuation simulation
Evacuations & rescues
Fatalities
Fire investigation
Fire simulation
Fires
Forensic engineering
Forensic science
Forensics
Gunpowder
Mathematical models
Mortality
Polyurethane
Polyurethane foam
Response time
Shooting range fire
Studies
Walls
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Summary:Coupled fire and evacuation computer simulations are used to numerically reconstruct a fatal fire that occurred in an indoor shooting range in Korea in 2009. Of the 16 occupants, 15 were killed and one survived. The analysis demonstrates that this approach can accurately reproduce the outcome of this fire. The approach is then used to forensically analyse the incident to identify factors significantly contributing to the high loss of life. In particular, occupant response times and flame spread rate over the polyurethane foam (PUF) cladded walls are investigated. The results suggest that it is unlikely that anyone could have survived if response times were greater than 5s. Furthermore, it is suggested that fatalities couldn't have been avoided even if response times were zero. It is also demonstrated that gunpowder residue on the PUF walls is the critical factor in producing the high loss of life. The average number of fatalities could be reduced from 14.9 in the reconstruction case to 0.1 if the walls are completely free of gunpowder residue. However, to completely eliminate fire related casualties, it is necessary to use a PUF wall cladding material with low flame spread rates together with an effective gunpowder cleaning system.
ISSN:0379-7112
1873-7226
DOI:10.1016/j.firesaf.2017.03.029