Search Results (23)

Accurate real-time tracking of forest fires using UAV platforms is crucial for timely early warning, reliable spread prediction, and effective autonomous suppression. Existing detection-based multi-object tracking methods face challenges in accurately associating targets and maintaining smooth tracking trajectories in complex forest environments. These difficulties stem from the highly nonlinear movement of flames relative to the observing UAV and the lack of robust fire-specific feature modeling. To address these challenges, we introduce AO-OCSORT, an association-optimized observation-centric tracking framework designed to enhance robustness in dynamic fire scenarios. AO-OCSORT builds on the YOLOX detector. To associate detection results across frames and form smooth trajectories, we propose a temporal–physical similarity metric that utilizes temporal information from the short-term motion of targets and incorporates physical flame characteristics derived from optical flow and contours. Subsequently, scene classification and low-score filtering are employed to develop a hierarchical association strategy, reducing the impact of false detections and interfering objects. Additionally, a virtual trajectory generation module is proposed, employing a kinematic model to maintain trajectory continuity during flame occlusion. Locally evaluated on the 1080P-resolution FireMOT UAV wildfire dataset, AO-OCSORT achieves a 5.4% improvement in MOTA over advanced baselines at 28.1 FPS, meeting real-time requirements. This improvement enhances the reliability of fire front localization, which is crucial for forest fire management. Furthermore, AO-OCSORT demonstrates strong generalization, achieving 41.4% MOTA on VisDrone, 80.9% on MOT17, and 92.2% MOTA on DanceTrack. Full article

This study investigated a factory fire that resulted in an unusual situation that caused the deaths of two firefighters. The official fire investigation report was analyzed, records were obtained, and on-site investigations and interviews were conducted. Using these additional data and a calorimetric analysis to determine the combustibility of goods stored in the building at the time, a functional 3D model was produced, and a fire dynamics simulator (FDS) was run. The model was augmented using the results of calorimetric experiments for three types of primary goods being stored in the warehouse area: paper lunch boxes, tissue paper, and corrugated boxes. The reaction heat data obtained for each of the three sample types was 848.24, 468.29, and 301.21 J g⁻¹, respectively. The maximum mass loss data were 98.522, 84.439, and 90.811 mass% for each of the three types, respectively. A full-scale fire scene reconstruction confirmed the fire propagation routes and changes in fire hazard factors, such as indoor temperature, visibility, and carbon monoxide concentration. The FDS results were compared to the NIST recommended values for firefighter heat exposure time. The cause of death for both firefighters was also investigated in terms of the heat resistance of the facepiece lenses of their self-contained breathing apparatus. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations can be made to forestall the recurrence of similar events. Full article

Electrical vehicle (EV) batteries, particularly lithium-ion batteries, pose significant environmental challenges due to their hazardous components, the effects of initial building-material fabrication, and the difficulties of recycling and disposal. Policies and legislative strategies adopted by different governments to solve these issues are investigated in this manuscript, specifically based on circularity and resource use. Important steps are end-of-life management, safe disposal and transportation, avoidance of hazardous gas emissions, circularity, resource use, fire prevention, and expanded producer accountability. As of February 2024, New Jersey is the first and only state in the United States that has adopted a thorough legislative framework for EV battery management, therefore establishing a standard for other states. California passed major laws encouraging Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) battery manufacture and recycling. Other states are likewise trying to show initiative by implementing and changing laws. Globally, the European Union is leading, while Canada, Australia, China, and others have created strong rules of regulation. This paper looks at and contrasts the environmental problems of lithium-ion electric vehicles with the legislative actions made by different nations and states to solve these problems. By means of a thorough examination of these policies, this paper seeks to present a whole picture of the current scene and the best techniques for lifetime management of EV batteries that can be embraced by different governments. In this manuscript, a comparison is made between two leading legislations, specifically that of the state of New Jersey and the European Union. To achieve the most beneficial outcome, it is the responsibility of stakeholders to promote rules; emphasize battery recycling, secure disposal, and extended producer accountability; promote innovation in sustainable battery technology; and try to build a pragmatic approach to battery management to mitigate environmental impacts based on a hybrid version of the legislations from the state of New Jersey and the European Union. Full article

Slingshots, traditionally viewed as children’s toys, have recently been modified for malicious purposes, including firing steel balls at building windows, causing significant damage. This misuse necessitates the development of methods to estimate impact velocity and launch point based on glass damage patterns at incident scenes. To achieve this, a comprehensive database correlating glass damage shapes with steel ball diameters is essential. This study conducted experiments to investigate the damage patterns of 5 mm thick glass upon impact with 8 mm and 10 mm steel balls. The damage limit velocities for 8 mm and 10 mm steel balls to cause damage to 5 mm glass were approximately 40 m/s and 21 m/s, respectively. Glass damage was categorized into two types: cone cracks and perforated holes. While cone crack patterns were similar for both 8 mm and 10 mm steel balls, perforation patterns exhibited distinct tendencies. Consequently, the impact velocity of each steel ball can be estimated based on the size of the perforated hole. However, determining the steel ball diameter solely from the size of the cone crack and perforated hole remains challenging. Full article

The rapid and accurate detection of fire scenes in various environments is crucial for effective disaster management and mitigation. Fire scene classification is a critical aspect of modern fire detection systems that directly affects public safety and property preservation. This research introduced a novel hybrid deep learning model designed to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of fire scene classification across diverse environments. The proposed model integrates advanced convolutional neural networks with multiscale feature extraction, attention mechanisms, and ensemble learning to achieve superior performance in real-time fire detection. By leveraging the strengths of pre-trained networks such as ResNet50, VGG16, and EfficientNet-B3, the model captures detailed features at multiple scales, ensuring robust detection capabilities. Including spatial and channel attention mechanisms further refines the focus on critical areas within the input images, reducing false positives and improving detection precision. Extensive experiments on a comprehensive dataset encompassing wildfires, building fires, vehicle fires, and non-fire scenes demonstrate that the proposed framework outperforms existing cutting-edge techniques. The model also exhibited reduced computational complexity and enhanced inference speed, making it suitable for deployment in real-time applications on various hardware platforms. This study sets a new benchmark for fire detection and offers a powerful tool for early warning systems and emergency response initiatives. Full article

There are three main types of forest fires: surface fires, tree crown fires, and underground fires. The frequency of surface fires and tree crown fires accounts for more than 90% of the overall frequency of forest fires. In order to construct an immersive three-dimensional visualization simulation of forest fires, various forest fire ignition methods, forest fire spread, and fire extinguishing simulation exercises are studied. This paper proposes a lightweight forest fire spread method based on cellular automata applied to the virtual 3D world. By building a plant model library using cells to express different plants, and by building a 3D geometric model of plants to truly capture the combustion process of a single plant, we can further simulate forest-scale fire propagation and analyze the factors that affect forest fire spread. In addition, based on the constructed immersive forest scene, this study explored various forms of fire extinguishing methods in the virtual environment, mainly liquid flame retardants such as water guns, helicopter-dropped flame retardants, or simulated rainfall. Therefore, the forest fire occurrence, spread, and fire extinguishing process can be visualized after the interactive simulation is designed and implemented. Finally, this study greatly enhanced the immersion and realism of the 3D forest fire scene by simulating the changes in plant materials during the spread of a forest fire. Full article

In the past, several firefighters have died in disaster relief operations. Although the firefighters were fully equipped, the scene of the disaster was smoky and disorienting, making the firefighters unable to identify their location. The commander wanted to direct the firefighters outside but could not confirm the correct location of the firefighters, causing delays in rescue. GPS cannot support indoor positioning or preset indoor positioning facilities at the moment of fire extinguishing. However, geomagnetism is everywhere, and it can be used to identify one’s location. Unfortunately, due to the uncertainty of the magnetic field strength, indoor geomagnetism is affected by the building environment, and the existing magnetic positioning methods have difficulty obtaining a location. To solve this problem, we propose a new incremental indoor localization scheme based on the difference in geomagnetic intensity. The proposed method achieves indoor localization in 2D environments successfully. The novelty of our geomagnetic indoor positioning system is that it can perform indoor positioning without adding any indoor positioning facilities, and the accuracy can reach 0.8~1.5 m. This article aims to verify that the geomagnetic turbulence filtering algorithm can filter out abnormal geomagnetic intensity, that the incremental algorithm can estimate the position of human motion, and that geomagnetism can be used for indoor positioning without any preset infrastructure. The contribution of this paper is that we have developed a practical system that can be used without any infrastructure and can be used for indoor positioning with meter-level accuracy. The geomagnetic indoor positioning system can be integrated with a wireless network and applied to disaster relief. Full article

A fireproof insulation board can be recycled, and the raw materials used in its production are very environmentally friendly, non-toxic and non-hazardous, and bring no harm to the human body and the surrounding environment. One practical application of fireproof insulation board is in an integrated composite structural fire protection system, which is a multidimensional comprehensive structural fire protection system proposed for the combined construction of buildings with different functions, such as horizontal and vertical, to ensure overall safety in the event of a building fire. The specific new technology of this new system includes an integrated structural fire protection system composed of a 3.00 h fire insulation board, which comes from the collection of textile scraps consisting of metals and buttons removed from clothes. To prove the effectiveness of this fireproof insulation board, its parameters were collected and put into FDS (FirG Dynamics Simulator, a CFD model of fluid flow during combustion developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology), the fire safety goals considering the safety of building and personnel were established, and fire scene design based on the statistics of fire data and building codes was generated to test the safety of evacuation. To ensure the reliability of simulation results, an on-site physical fire test was conducted with the recycled insulation board. The result shows that the function of recycled board optimizes the phased evacuation design plan of personnel and solves the design difficulties of expanding fire zones and long evacuation distances when used in warehouses. Through the innovative design of the roof opening rate set at 30% and a hole spacing of 60 m, this underground fireproof insulation board is guaranteed to possess natural smoke exhaust conditions and can be used to improve public safety areas. Full article

Early fire detection and notification techniques provide fire prevention and safety information to blind and visually impaired (BVI) people within a short period of time in emergency situations when fires occur in indoor environments. Given its direct impact on human safety and the environment, fire detection is a difficult but crucial problem. To prevent injuries and property damage, advanced technology requires appropriate methods for detecting fires as quickly as possible. In this study, to reduce the loss of human lives and property damage, we introduce the development of the vision-based early flame recognition and notification approach using artificial intelligence for assisting BVI people. The proposed fire alarm control system for indoor buildings can provide accurate information on fire scenes. In our proposed method, all the processes performed manually were automated, and the performance efficiency and quality of fire classification were improved. To perform real-time monitoring and enhance the detection accuracy of indoor fire disasters, the proposed system uses the YOLOv5m model, which is an updated version of the traditional YOLOv5. The experimental results show that the proposed system successfully detected and notified the occurrence of catastrophic fires with high speed and accuracy at any time of day or night, regardless of the shape or size of the fire. Finally, we compared the competitiveness level of our method with that of other conventional fire-detection methods to confirm the seamless classification results achieved using performance evaluation matrices. Full article

During the last two decades, managers have been applying Building Information Modeling (BIM) to improve the quality of management as well as operation. The effectiveness of applications within a BIM environment is restrained by the limited immersive experience in virtual environments. Defined as the immersive visualization of virtual scenes, Virtual Reality (VR) is an emerging technology that can be actively explored to expand BIM to more usage. This paper highlights the need for a structured methodology for the integration of BIM/VR and gives a generic review of BIM and VR in training platforms for management in infrastructures. The rationales for fire evacuation training were formed based on the review. Then, methods of configuring BIM + VR prototypes were formulated for emergency response in highway tunnels. Furthermore, a conceptual framework integrating BIM with VR was proposed to enable the visualization of the physical context in real-time during the training. The result indicated that, extended to the training system of highway management via the “hand” of BIM, the VR solution can benefit more areas, such as the cost of fire evacuation drills in highway tunnels and the tendency of accidents to occur in the emergency response. Full article

Limited studies have investigated pedestrians’ exit choices in an emergency in multi-level commercial buildings. In particular, the comparison between exit choices before and after awareness of an incident location is non-existent in the literature. Likewise, the influence of individual attributes, such as the presence of a child or a companion, on the individual’s exit choice in complex architectural layouts has rarely been studied in the literature. This paper aims to address these knowledge gaps by investigating pedestrians’ exit choice behavior in an emergency at a multi-level shopping complex considering exit choice behavior before and after awareness of incident location and the influence of personal attributes (e.g., presence of a child or companion). A survey of 1271 pedestrians for two hypothetical emergency scenarios in a multi-level shopping center in Tehran, Iran was conducted. A tablet-based simulator of a multi-story commercial complex was designed, and on-site interviews were conducted. In the first scenario, participants were asked to select their preferred exit door at the start of the emergency alarm without being informed about the incident location. In the next scenario, the scene of an incident (fire) was displayed without altering the conditions, and pedestrians were asked to choose their desired exit. The utility models investigated the differences in pedestrians’ behavior before and after awareness of the fire location. The models show differences in pedestrian decisions to evacuate and select the exit when the fire location information was available compared to when only emergency alarm information was available. Further, differences in evacuation strategy between the people who preferred to delay the exit and those who preferred to exit immediately were observed. Participants with children were more concerned about the ease of moving on the route and preferred a less congested route and exit area. Differences in evacuation behavior on the ground floor and other floors were also observed. Full article

At 15:48 on 24 July 2021, a fire accident occurred in Changchun City, Jilin Province, China, resulting in 15 deaths and 25 injuries. After the accident happened, Jilin Province comprehensively organised an emergency rescue, saving more than 100 trapped people. Given the dangers posed by these events, it is recommended that we must strengthen our risk awareness. Combined with the general background and scene of the fire, in this study, we analysed the causes of the accident and described the on-site rescue actions. The direct cause of the accident was an arc fault, and the indirect cause was the dereliction of duty in the laying and installation of the circuit and the subsequent fire supervision. From our case analysis of electrical fires in public buildings, we found that electrical failure, human factors (illegal operation), ageing and short circuits of wires, poor contact of wires, and ignition of other combustibles by electrical appliances are the main factors causing electrical fire accidents in public buildings. To avoid serious fire accidents caused by arc faults, we proposed suggestions to reduce or prevent electric fire accidents caused by arc faults. Full article

(1) Background: It is well known that various toxic substances, including carcinogens, are generated at the fire scenes, so it is very important for firefighters to wear comprehensive personal protective equipment. The extent of the type and amount of harmful substances contained in the washing water of fire protection suits (FPS) exposed to fire scenes have not yet been confirmed. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the characteristics of harmful substances contained in wash water extracted from FPSs exposed to fire. (2) Methods: The study design was a simulation-based experimental study. To evaluate the degree of contamination exposure of FPSs, 10 sets of fire suits were classified into four groups as follows: newly supplied, field use, one fire exposure, and two consecutive fire exposures. In the experimental environment, after exposing three to four groups of FPSs to residential fire conditions. they were sealed in a plastic bag in the experimental space. The washing water for FPSs was extracted through manual washing in the order of Groups 1 to 4, and 24 items were analyzed according to the water pollution process test standards. (3) Results: According to the results of the FPS laundry analysis, the concentration of acrylonitrile in laundry was higher when exposed to fire twice than when exposed to fire once. Moreover, there was a dose–response relationship, and the risk of cumulative toxicity was shown. Naphthalene and diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) were detected to be high in the washing water of Group 3 FPSs exposed to incomplete combustion fire. Of the 24 items that were analyzed for in the water, four item exceeded the standard for sewage discharge facilities in accordance with the Water Environment Conservation Act. Copper and its compounds exceeded the standards by 3.4 times, antimony 4.8 times, acrylonitrile 26.0 times, and DEHP 4.1 times, respectively. (4) Conclusions: Therefore, when removing FPSs after firefighting activities, care should be taken to avoid contaminating the skin. In addition, facilities that wash FPS that have been exposed to a fire scene must have a sewage treatment and purification facility. However, if emergency decontamination of FPSs is conducted at the fire scene, the concentration of toxic substances contained in laundry can be reduced. In the case of large-scale fire, there is a risk of water pollution near the fire scene, so it is necessary to prepare a national countermeasure. The results of this study can be applied to the revision of regulations related to the building of the fire departments, reduction of water pollution, and water environment policy. Full article

As our society ages, more and more elderly or disabled people live in long-term care (LTC) facilities, which are vulnerable to fires and may result in heavy casualties. Because of the low mobility of LTC residents, firefighters often need to enter the facility to save people. In addition, due to LTC facility management needs, many doors or windows on the passages for a fire rescue operation may be blocked. Thus, firefighters have to employ forcible entry tools such as disk cutters for passing through, which may lengthen the rescue time if an incorrect route or tool is utilized. As new information technologies such as ontology and building information modeling (BIM) have matured, this research aims at proposing a BIM-based ontology model to help firefighters determine better rescue routes instead of using rules of thumb. Factors such as the path length, building components and materials encountered, and forcible entry tools carried are considered in the model. Real LTC fire investigation reports are used for the comparisons between the original routes and the ones generated by the proposed model, and seven experts joined the evaluation workshop to provide further insights. The experts agreed that using the proposed approach can lead to better fire rescue route planning. The proposed BIM-based ontology model could be extended to accommodate additional needs for hospital fire scenes, in the hopes of enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of firefighters’ rescue operations in such important facilities. Full article

Fire smoke reduces the visibility of emergency direction signs, rendering them ineffective for providing appropriate guidance along evacuation routes in a fire situation. This is problematic because civilians may select evacuation routes that expose them to smoke or fire in a burning building. This study proposed using a smartphone voice-guided evacuation system (SVGES) to provide alternative evacuation routes for civilians trapped at a fire scene. To verify the efficacy of the SVGES, experiments were conducted with 26 participants in a simulated fire scenario. The experimental results showed that when using the SVGES, the participants chose the safest evacuation route with a 100% successful evacuation rate. Full article