A review of two decades of worldwide experience using standards, codes and guidelines related to performance-based fire protection design for buildings has identified shortcomings in the interpretation, application and implementation of the performance-based design process, apparent inconsistency in the resulting levels of performance achieved and several opportunities to enhance the process. In a constantly evolving building environment, technical challenges have to be overcome because fire safety engineering still depends greatly on knowledge gained from scientific and engineering research across a broad range of disciplines (e.g., better understanding of the fire phenomena, the behavior and response of the building occupants/contents/structure to the fire, tools for engineering analysis and all the necessary data needed to support tool application). Political challenges also need to be considered as performance-based fire protection design requires the approval of the authority having jurisdiction and other involved stakeholders, at several of its different steps (design, construction, original usage, modifications of usage). The review presented here has been undertaken from an engineering perspective rather than a regulatory perspective. Two key outcomes of this engineering review are that several of the challenges that have been identified are strongly linked to the application of generic guidance to specific problems, which results in critical details being missed, and that some of the engineering issues are treated within a political context, while they should be addressed as purely technical issues.
MeachamBJ. The evolution of performance based codes and fire safety design methods, Report NIST GCR 98--761. Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology, 1998.
2.
Meacham BJ. International experience in the development and use of performance-based fire safety design methods: Evolution, current situation and thoughts for the future. In: fire safety science: Proceedings of the Sixth International Symposium (Michel C and Marne-La-Vallée, eds.), University of Poitiers, France, 5–9 July 1999. London: International Association for Fire Safety Science, 2000; pp.59–76.
3.
HadjisophocleousGVBénichouNTaminAS. Literature review of performance-based codes and design environment. J Fire Protect Eng1998; 9(1): 12–40.
4.
CusterRMeachamB. Introduction to performance-based fire safety, Bethesda, MD: Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 1997.
5.
Application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings. Code of practice – BSI 7971:2001, British Standards Institute, London.
6.
Fire safety engineering – Part 1: Application of fire performance concepts to design objectives, ISO/TR 13387-1:1999, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva.
7.
IFEG. International Fire Engineering Guidelines, Australian Building Codes Board, Department of Building and Housing (New Zealand), International Code Council (USA), and National Research Council (Canada), 2005.
8.
SFPE Engineering Guide to Performance-Based Fire Protection. Bethesda, MD: Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2007.
NFPA 5000. Building construction and safety code, Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, 2012.
11.
Tubbs B and Okawa R. Performance codes and design in the US, an International Code Council (ICC) Perspective. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Performance-Based Codes and Fire Safety Design Methods, Auckland, New Zealand. Bethesda, MD: Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 16–18 April, 2008, pp.59–65.
12.
Johnson P. Performance based fire safety regulation & building design – the challenges in the 21st century. In: Proceedings of the 4th international conference on performance-based codes and fire safety design methods (Almand K, Coate C, England P and Gordon J, eds.), Melbourne, Australia. Bethesda, MD: Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 20–22 March, 2002, pp.3–13.
13.
Takeichi N, Matsumoto K and Wataru G. Review of Japanese performance-based code- Recommendation by Research committee on Building legislation in AIJ. In: Proceedings of the 7th international conference on performance-based codes and fire safety design methods, Auckland, New Zealand. Bethesda, MD: Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 16–18 April, 2008, pp.25–33.
14.
Schulz J and Feeney M. The fire engineering brief process in performance based fire engineering – Is it working? In: Proceedings of the 7th international conference on performance-based codes and fire safety design methods. Bethesda, MD: Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2008, pp.35–46.
15.
Brannigan V, Smidts C and Kilpatrick A. Regulatory requirements for performance based codes using mathematical risk assessment. In: Proceedings of Interflam’96 (Franks CA and Grayson S, eds.), Cambridge, UK. London: Interscience Communications Ltd, 26–28 March, 1996, pp.621–630.
16.
Bryan JohnLBehavioral response to fire and smoke. In: DiNennoPJ (eds). The SFPE handbook of fire protection engineering, 3rd edn. Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, 2002, pp. 3-315–3-341.
17.
SFPE Task Group on Human Behavior. SFPE Engineering guide: Human behavior in Fire. Bethesda, MD: Society of Fire Protection Engineers, June 2003.
18.
CEN EN 1990: Basis of Structural design, European Committee for Standardization 1990.
19.
SFPE Task Group on Performance-Based Design Review. SFPE Code Official's Guide to Performance-Based Design Review, Society of Fire Protection Engineers – International Code Council, June 2004.
20.
Richardson JK, Yung D, Lougheed GD, et al. The technologies required for performance-based fire safety design. In: Proceedings of the 1996 international conference on performance-based codes and fire safety design methods (Peter Lund D, ed.), 24–26 September 1996, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Bethesda, MD: Society of Fire Protection Engineers, pp.191–201, 1997.
21.
Charters D and Ramachandran G. Acceptance criteria. In: Quantitative risk assessment in fire safety. New York, USA: Spon Press, 2011, p.193.
22.
Grubits S. Fire safety engineering research in Australia. In: Proceedings of the international fire safety engineering conference. Sydney, Australia: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation, 18–20 October, 1992.
23.
Barber D and Van Merkestein R. Can the approval of performance based solutions be improved? In: Proceedings of the 4th international conference on performance-based codes and fire safety design methods. (Almand K, Coate C, England P and Gordon J, eds.), Melbourne, Australia. Bethesda, MD: Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 20–22 March, 2002, pp.143–154.
24.
Johnson P, Gildersleeve C and Williams P. Road tunnel fire safety – approach to fire scenarios. In: Proceedings of the 7th international conference on performance-based codes and fire safety design methods, Auckland, New Zealand. Society of Fire Protection Engineers, Bethesda, MD, 16–18 April, 2008, pp. 251–262.
25.
NFPA Technical Committees. NFPA 101 Life Safety Code®. Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, 2009.
26.
Kruppa J. Performance-based code in fire resistance: A first attempt by Eurocodes. In: Proceedings of the 1996 International Conference on Performance-Based Codes and Fire Safety Design Methods (Peter Lund D, ed.), Bethesda, MD. 24–26 September 1996, Ontario, Canada: Society of Fire Protection Engineers, pp.217–228.
27.
Alvarez A. An integrated framework for the next generation of risk-informed performance-based design approach used in fire safety engineering. PhD Thesis. Fire Protection Engineering Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, 2012.
28.
Performance Code for Building and Facilities, International Code Council, 2009.
29.
CSNI Technical Opinion Papers (No. 1: Fire Probabilistic Safety Assessment for Nuclear Power Plants; No. 2: Seismic Probabilistic Safety Assessment for Nuclear Facilities), Nuclear Energy Agency – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2002, http://www.oecd-nea.org/nsd/reports/nea3948-fire-seismic.pdf (accessed 25 October 2011).
30.
Brannigan V. Fire scenarios or scenario fires? Can fire safety science provide the critical inputs for performance based fire safety analyses? Fire Safety Science: Proceedings of the Sixth International Symposium, (Michel C and Marne-La-Vallée, eds.), University of Poitiers, France, 5–9 July 1999. International Association for Fire Safety Science, London, pp.207–218.
31.
HallJRJrWattsJJr. Fire risk analysis. The Fire Protection Handbook2008; Vol. 1, 20th edn. Section 3 (Cote AE, ed.), Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association.
32.
Hall JR Jr. Defining the challenge: Selecting fire scenarios for fire protection system design and evaluation. In: Proceedings of SUPDET 2011: Suppression, detection and signaling research and applications - a Technical Working Conference, March 22–25, 2011, http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files//PDF/Proceedings/SUPDET11HallAbstract.pdf (accessed 25 October 2011).
33.
Babrauskas V. Ensuring the public’s right to adequate fire safety under performance-based building codes. In: Proceedings of the Pacific Rim Conference and 2nd International Conference on Performance-Based Codes and Fire Safety Design Methods 3–9 May, 1998, Maui, HI. Birmingham, AL: International Code Council/SFPE, pp.239–247, 1998.
34.
NFPA 101 Life Safety Code® Handbook. 11th ed. In: Coté R and Harrington GE (eds). Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, 2009, pp.667–669.
35.
Lloydd D. Evaluation of the conceptual framework for performance based fire engineering design in New Zealand. Fire Engineering Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Canterbury, 2008.
36.
International Building Code. International Code Council, 2012.
37.
Miclea PC, Chow WK, Shen-Wen C, et al. International tunnel fire-safety design practices. ASHRAE J 2007; 49: 50–60.
38.
NFPA 914. Code for fire protection in historic structures. Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, 2010.
39.
WattsJM. Fire protection performance evaluation for historic buildings. J Fire Protect Eng2001; 11: 197–208.
40.
Stenstad V and Bjørkmann WR. A systematic approach to fire safety design. In: Proceedings of the 5th international conference on performance-based codes and fire safety design methods, 6–8 October, 2004, Luxembourg. Bethesda, MD: Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2004, Luxembourg, pp.67–78.
41.
SFPE Engineering Guide – Guidelines for Substantiating a Fire Model for a Given Application, SFPE G.06.2011. Bethesda, MD: Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2011.
42.
Fire safety engineering – Assessment, verification and validation of calculation methods, ISO 16730:2008. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization, 2008.
43.
ASTM E1355-11: Standard guide for evaluating the predictive capability of deterministic fire models. West Conshohoken, PA: American Society for Testing and Materials, 2011.
44.
SFPE Engineering guide: Evaluation of the Computer Model DETACT-QS, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, Bethesda, MD, 2002.
45.
WoycheeseJPRaghavanVKimM. Online access to and data analysis tools for experiments in building and fire science, Final Report NIST GCR 06-894. Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2006.
46.
Fahy RF and Proulx G. Toward creating a database on delay times to start evacuation and walking speeds for use in evacuation modeling. Report NRCC-44758, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/doc/pubs/nrcc44758/nrcc44758.pdf (2001, accessed 28 November 2011).
47.
Gwynne SMV. Improving the collection and use of human egress data. Fire Technol – Online First, 2011.
48.
NFPA 557: Standard for determination of fire loads for use in structural fire protection design. Proposed Standard, Next Edition: 2012. Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, 2012.
49.
Alvarez A, Meacham BJ, Dembsey NA, et al. A framework for risk-informed performance-based fire protection design for the built environment. Manuscript under review at J Fire Protect Eng. JFE-13-0016, April 2013.
50.
Alvarez A and Meacham BJ. ‘Test bed' environment process for assessing the appropriateness of engineering tools to be used in performance-based design applications. In: Proceedings of the 9th international conference on performance–based codes and fire safety design methods, 20–22 June 2012, Hong Kong. Bethesda, MD: Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2012.
