Fire safety index for high-rise buildings in the Emirate of Sharjah, UAE

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to develop a fire index system for measuring the compliance of high-rise residential buildings with fire requirements in the Emirate of Sharjah, and also to develop an index system for measuring the fire response efficiency, which is linked the two indexes, and the higher the compliance rate, the greater chance of a successful response. The two systems depend on the automation of the firefighting system management processes using the techniques of the fourth industrial revolution, and they were developed based on consultation with subject matter experts in the field and used multiple methods, such as the analytic hierarchy process, failure mode effect, criticality analysis, and Delphi techniques. The main criteria of the indexes were identified as the fire risk assessment, fire suppression system, fire accident management, fire alarm system, fire extinguisher, employees, residents, service rooms, lifts, gas connections, waste, housekeeping, and evacuation facilities. Each main criterium was detailed in the sub-criteria and weighted to achieve the index for each sub-criteria based on the fire legislation in UAE, the fire response index (developed based on the high-rise building fire index), the category of the building in terms of floor numbers, and the distance between building and the fire station. The two index systems can contribute to improving emergency preparedness in high-rise residential buildings in the Emirate of Sharjah and are also considered as measurement indexes for compliance with fire requirements in the Emirate of Sharjah.