Semiquantitative Fire Risk Grade Model and Response Plans on a National Highway Bridge

Abstract

For the last ten years, the number of cases of large-scale fires which occur on bridges, tunnels, and underpasses has increased. Such fires cause primary and secondary damage, including loss of human life, traffic congestion, and extensive financial damage. Therefore, a risk grade model and effective response plan need to be established for such cases in order to minimize the social and economic costs of bridge fires. In this study, the hazard factors contributing to bridge fires were selected to apply a risk grade model. A total of 144 bridge fire simulations were performed to calculate a surface temperature based on time by using Fire Dynamics Simulation (FDS). A risk grade in accordance with the degree of surface damage state caused by temperature of bridges was presented, and the mobilization time criteria for fire suppression were proposed. The surface temperatures based on time can be classified according to the vertical clearance and mobilization time criteria for fire suppression. Through the classified maximum surface temperatures based on time for bridges, the risk grade can be estimated according to the degree of surface damage state caused by temperature. In order to evaluate the applicability of the established risk grade model to the actual bridge, the arrival time taken from the bridge to the fire station was calculated through a Geographic Information System (GIS) network analysis, and the grades for actual bridge cases were assessed. The purpose of this bridge fire risk grade model is to establish a disaster prevention strategy based on risk grades and to minimize the subsequent social damage by determining a priori the disaster scale.