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Fire
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Fire Safety in the Built Environment
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Fire Safety in the Built Environment

A special issue of Fire (ISSN 2571-6255). This special issue belongs to the section "Fire Risk Assessment and Safety Management in Buildings and Urban Spaces".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 5845

Editors

Prof. Dr. Guowei Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, China
Interests: super-tall building fires; urban emergency response; firefighting equipment; fire suppressants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Lu He

E-Mail
Guest Editor
School of Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Interests: heat transfer; hydrogen safety; ventilation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Tianwei Chu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Interests: fire safety in built envrionment; CFD fire modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fire safety in the built environment remains a fundamental challenge as modern buildings and infrastructure systems continue to increase in scale, complexity and functional integration. Contemporary built environments—including residential and commercial buildings, transportation facilities, underground spaces and industrial infrastructure—are characterized by diverse spatial configurations, high occupant densities and increasingly stringent performance requirements. These features collectively lead to complex fire scenarios with significant implications for life safety, property protection and structural resilience.

Fire development in enclosed and semi-enclosed spaces is governed by a range of interacting physical processes, including combustion, heat transfer, smoke generation and movement and boundary interactions. Variations in architectural layout, material properties, enclosure geometry and environmental conditions can result in highly nonlinear fire behaviour and unexpected hazard escalation. Such complexity presents substantial challenges for fire safety engineering, particularly in the context of performance-based design, emergency response planning and post-fire risk assessment.

Addressing fire safety in the built environment, therefore, requires an integrated and multidisciplinary approach that combines fundamental fire science, experimental investigation, numerical modelling and engineering application. A systematic understanding of fire behaviour and its interaction with building systems is essential for the development of robust design methodologies, reliable assessment tools and effective mitigation strategies applicable to modern built environments.

This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive platform for advancing both scientific understanding and engineering practice in fire safety within the built environment. It seeks to bring together contributions that address fundamental mechanisms, modelling approaches, experimental studies and practical engineering solutions related to fire safety in buildings and infrastructure systems.

The topic of this Special Issue is closely aligned with the journal’s scope in fire science, fire safety engineering and performance-based design. By covering a broad range of theoretical and applied research, the Special Issue aims to foster knowledge exchange between researchers and practitioners and to support the development of improved design methodologies and risk mitigation strategies for contemporary built environments.

The Special Issue welcomes original research articles, review papers and technical notes on topics including, but not limited to:

  1. Fire safety challenges in the built environment
  2. Fire dynamics in buildings and enclosed spaces
  3. Smoke generation, movement and hazard development
  4. Experimental studies on fires in buildings and infrastructure systems
  5. Numerical modelling and simulation of fire behaviour
  6. Fire safety engineering methods and assessment tools
  7. Performance-based fire safety design and evaluation
  8. Tenability, evacuation safety and occupant protection
  9. Fire risk assessment and mitigation strategies
  10. Case studies and lessons learned from real fire incidents

This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive platform for advancing scientific knowledge and engineering practice related to compartment fires and broader fire safety issues in the built environment.

Prof. Dr. Guowei Zhang
Dr. Lu He
Dr. Tianwei Chu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fire is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • compartment fires
  • smoke control
  • HVAC systems
  • CFD modelling
  • performance-based design
  • travelling fires

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  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 3247 KB  
Article
Fire Performance Prediction of Naturally Ventilated Double-Skin Façades Using CFD and Machine Learning
by Mehmet Akif Yıldız and Merve Ertosun Yıldız
Fire 2026, 9(6), 239; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire9060239 - 4 Jun 2026
Viewed by 650
Abstract
Double-skin façade (DSF) systems are important for energy efficiency because they effectively utilize natural ventilation and daylight. However, the uninterrupted vertical gaps in these systems may pose safety risks in the event of a fire by causing the rapid spread of smoke and [...] Read more.
Double-skin façade (DSF) systems are important for energy efficiency because they effectively utilize natural ventilation and daylight. However, the uninterrupted vertical gaps in these systems may pose safety risks in the event of a fire by causing the rapid spread of smoke and hot gases. This study presents a hybrid approach that combines computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based simulations and machine learning (ML) techniques to predict heat flow and fire-room control-volume heat release rate (FR-HRR). Within the scope of the study, 400 different scenarios were modeled with different combinations of basic natural ventilation design parameters consisting of gap width, gap height, window opening area, and air inlet and outlet area. The data obtained were evaluated with different ML models, including Fine Tree, Bagged Tree, Support Vector Machine, and Artificial Neural Network models; in particular, the Fine Tree model gave the most successful results with high accuracy rates (R2 = 0.99 for FR-HRR; R2 = 0.91 for heat flow). The analysis showed that DSF gap width provided a dominant model-based contribution within the investigated CFD-generated dataset. This approach provides a preliminary CFD-informed ML framework for the rapid comparative assessment of fire-related responses in open-boundary naturally ventilated DSF configurations during the early design stage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fire Safety in the Built Environment)
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32 pages, 18777 KB  
Article
Simulation Study on Fire Resistance Performance of Substation Frameworks with Fire-Retardant Coating Under Heating Curve Conditions Specified by ISO 834 Standard
by Hui Zhu, Xinglong Fang and Xufeng Shen
Fire 2026, 9(3), 133; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire9030133 - 20 Mar 2026
Viewed by 1250
Abstract
To analyze the fire resistance performance of the substation framework protected by fire-retardant coating, herringbone column structure substation frameworks under heating curve conditions specified by the ISO 834 standard were simulated using ABAQUS software. Moreover, this study investigated the temperature field, stress field, [...] Read more.
To analyze the fire resistance performance of the substation framework protected by fire-retardant coating, herringbone column structure substation frameworks under heating curve conditions specified by the ISO 834 standard were simulated using ABAQUS software. Moreover, this study investigated the temperature field, stress field, and displacement characteristics of the substation structure under typical fire scene conditions. The research results indicate the following: (1) Without fire-retardant coating, the surface temperature of the bare substation framework reaches 500 °C within a short period, and a large temperature difference between the interior and exterior of the steel pipe is caused, which may induce brittle cracking within the steel. Within the 1000 s period from the start of heating, the strength of the steel structure decreases with the increase in temperature. Stress is gradually concentrated on the steel structure, and the heated part of the bare steel truss undergoes a deformation displacement of more than 0.1 m, making it susceptible to brittle fractures in the steel. The maximum deflection of the steel structures exceeds the critical value of 0.07 m. (2) With fire-retardant coating, the surface temperature of the steel can be maintained below 310 °C, and the stress in most areas of the substation framework remains below 170 Mpa. The displacement and deformation of the transformer frame are significantly reduced, and the deformation can be maintained below 0.02 m. All positions of the substation framework are in the upward expansion stage, and the deflection does not exceed 0.02 m. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fire Safety in the Built Environment)
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23 pages, 4365 KB  
Article
Comparative Study on Residual Capacity of Fire-Damaged Rectangular and T-Shaped Concrete Beams
by Manish K. Sah, Pratik Bhatt, Vasant A. Matsagar, Heesun Kim and Venkatesh K. R. Kodur
Fire 2026, 9(3), 122; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire9030122 - 12 Mar 2026
Viewed by 1438
Abstract
In this study, the comparative residual performance of fire-exposed reinforced concrete (RC) beams with rectangular and T-shaped cross-sections is investigated. Two concrete beams, one with a T-section and the other with a rectangular section, were tested under the combined effects of fire exposure [...] Read more.
In this study, the comparative residual performance of fire-exposed reinforced concrete (RC) beams with rectangular and T-shaped cross-sections is investigated. Two concrete beams, one with a T-section and the other with a rectangular section, were tested under the combined effects of fire exposure and structural loading. Data generated in the tests during and following fire exposure is utilized to compare the thermal and structural response of the beams. The results indicate a notable difference in the temperature evolution, mid-span deflection, and the residual capacity of the beams. The T-beam experienced greater deflection and stiffness degradation due to its larger exposed surface area (approximately 17% higher than the rectangular beam) and flange geometry, despite comparable peak rebar temperatures. A simplified approach, based on the maximum concrete and rebar temperatures and corresponding strength reductions, is proposed to evaluate the residual capacity of fire-exposed RC beams. For equal cover depth to reinforcement, peak rebar temperature is unaffected by cross-section shape as long as the web of the T-beam is not slender. T-shaped beams with similar overall depth exhibit greater post-fire strength retention than rectangular beams when the neutral axis lies within the flange. A 20% reduction in the web thickness and a combined reduction of 20% in web and 37% in flange thickness result in a comparable decrease in the flexural capacity to that of the rectangular beams of similar depth, indicating that the flange plays a key role in maintaining post-fire performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fire Safety in the Built Environment)
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22 pages, 5127 KB  
Article
Wind-Driven Structure-to-Structure Fire Spread: Validating a Physics-Based Model for Outdoor Built Environments
by Mahmoud S. Waly, Guan Heng Yeoh and Maryam Ghodrat
Fire 2026, 9(3), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire9030119 - 6 Mar 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1982
Abstract
Recently, numerous countries have experienced devastating wildfires, leading to significant destruction and loss of life. These catastrophic events highlight the shortcomings in current building regulations and testing methods. There is a pressing need for a more profound understanding of the characteristics and behaviour [...] Read more.
Recently, numerous countries have experienced devastating wildfires, leading to significant destruction and loss of life. These catastrophic events highlight the shortcomings in current building regulations and testing methods. There is a pressing need for a more profound understanding of the characteristics and behaviour of large outdoor fires to address these inadequacies effectively. Wildfires can spread to structures located at the wildland–urban interface, leading to further fire propagation from one building to another. In this study, the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) model was validated using experimental data from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The experiment consisted of a target wall and a small wooden shed containing six wooden cribs as fuel, with a separation distance of 3 m. Both FDS and the experiment proved that 3 m is the safe separation distance. Different shed materials, such as steel, were used, which reduced the total heat release rate by 40% and the flame height by 20%. The effects of wind speed and direction were investigated using two wooden sheds in FDS to observe fire spread between them. The safe separation distance was 3 m for both wind speeds (2 and 5 m/s) in all directions, where the critical temperature was not reached to cause self-ignition of the second shed, except in the north direction (inward) at a speed of 5 m/s. When the separation distance increased to 3.5 m, the average heat flux at the other shed reduced to 3.18 kW/m2, which did not cause self-ignition. Therefore, the safe separation distance between two structures for a wind speed of 5 m/s should be 3.5 m to mitigate the spread of fire based on the shed dimensions and the fire source load. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fire Safety in the Built Environment)
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