Evaluating the Impact of Fires on the Environment

Abstract

The impact of fires on humans and the environment has been the subject of investigation for decades. We have a variety of more or less well developed models to study the impact of fires on humans and even have several international standards categorising standardised approaches to quantifying the toxic potency of fire gas exposure. However, there is currently no standardised approach available to evaluate the environmental impact of fires and their countermeasures. This paper will provide a summary of the work that the authors have conducted over the past 15 years on the development of different tools to investigate the environmental impact of fires, including Fire-LCA (life-cycle assessment) and Fire-CBA (cost benefit assessment). The benefit of a holistic approach will be discussed but also its limitations in light of data availability and quality, and the difficulties associated with interpreting the results. In particular, the development of a truly global approach to the modelling of the environmental impact of fires, incorporating such issues as toxicity, eco-toxicity and cost-benefit analysis into a traditional LCA model will be discussed. It is only through the development of such a tool that one can hope to be able to provide sound input to legislation in support of the development of environmentally sustainable fire safety. This work will be presented against a backdrop of data concerning toxic and eco-toxic emissions from fires. Such data are a pre-requisite for modelling the environmental impact of fires and while much detailed data are now publicly available much still remains to be found -gaps in data will be identified and discussed.