Citation

Smith RL. Fire Technol. 1991; 27(2): 145-159.

Affiliation

Center for Fire Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 20899 Gaithersburg, MD, USA

Copyright

(Copyright © 1991, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/BF01470865

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This report addresses the issue of developing an expert or knowledge-based system that deals with the problem of preventing the spread of fire between buildings. EXPOSURE, a knowledge-based program, has been developed that facilitates using the most appropriate technology and providing cost-effective solutions. EXPOSURE can solve the problem of the spread of fire between buildings for the case when an exposed building has combustible walls. The use of the expert system EXPOSURE and NFPA 80A produce significantly different recommended minimum separation between buildings. In some cases EXPOSURE calls for significantly greater separation and in others significantly less. In one case the separation required by NFPA 80A was more than five times greater than what EXPOSURE recommended. This program demonstrates that significant cost savings in achieving the desired level of firesafety and in assuring the levels of safety can be obtained by use of expert system fire codes.