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In Taiwan, arcade buildings function as areas for parking scooters, spaces for markets, and walkways for pedestrians. In recent decades, arcade fires have caused many cases of serious casualties due to the likely direction of fire that spreads from the first floor up, which hinders the evacuation routes. The majority of fire prevention research has focused on confined spaces or rooms instead of arcade areas. Specifically, the controlling of fire spreads that are caused by scooters in arcade areas has been rarely discussed. The variables of spaces, Response Time Index, and sprinkler activation temperatures are modeled in five fire scenarios with the Fire Dynamics Simulator software to simulate the real arcade fires in this paper. The results show that (1) setting an automatic sprinkler system can effectively suppress the arcade fires, (2) the quick response sprinkler RTI≦50 is the most effective type, and the result is similar to RTI=25, and (3) the sprinkler settings with either 2.3 meters or 2.6 meters do not have significant effects on heat release rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Taiwan, firefighters are responsible for transporting confirmed coronavirus cases to hospitals or epidemic prevention hotels. During the epidemic, in order to reduce the chance of cross-infection between the general public and the fire brigade, traditional collective mobilization training was limited. As a solution, this study combines a fire command course (C1) and a VR simulation for training fire station captains (VRST) and then applies the pre- and post-test evaluation approaches and the after-class questionnaire to summarize the learning effectiveness. The results show that, from a total of 244 captains that were trained, the after-training scores are significantly better when compared with the scores before training (p < 0.05, Cohen’s d > 0.8). Additionally, the post-test scores collected during the epidemic (n = 158) have no significant difference compared to the ones taken before the outbreak (2019, n = 86) in terms of sizing up, decision making, and safety management. The training results are still improving. The after-class questionnaire showed that most trainees believed that VRST helped to improve their confidence as incident commanders (ICs) (mean = 4.63, top box = 66.98%), with the novice and suburban groups exhibiting more significant improvements in command ability after the training. After the pandemic, VRST can continue as a regular training method for ICs. Because of the intervention of VRST, the differences in the command experience between different IC groups can be compensated for.

Firefighters searching in dark and complex environments might lose their orientation and endanger themselves at the fireground. This study conducted experiments in the Training Facility of the New Taipei City Fire Department (NTFD), Taiwan. The objective of the experiments was to analyze the profile of each firefighter by a 13-factor self-report survey and their wayfinding time in dark and complex environments (DCEs). The results showed that age might be a marginally significant factor, and fear of confinement might be a significant factor that could affect firefighters' wayfinding time in the DCEs. The findings could provide strategies for improving the safety of firefighters working in such environments.