Approaches to Reducing Vulnerability and Preparedness against Possible Fire in High-Rise Buildings

Fire safety issues in high-rise buildings which are the dominant trend of urban new developments are critically noticeable. Lack of knowledge about fire safety problems in these types of construction seriously threats people’s lives and properties. This article seeks to answer the question that in what ways methods of preparedness against possible fire has the possibility of implementing in the current situation of high rise building of our country. This article reviews the literature and international experience in preparedness and vulnerability reduction in highrise buildings against fire incidents. For this purpose by reviewing of the specialized literature, international standards and guidelines in the field of safety management of fire incident in high rise buildings as well as search for new solutions, finally it has been concluded due to the possibility of their use in our country. In developed countries in terms of knowledge of high rise construction three preventive methods were used. The first method is “to calculate the evacuation time to design an optimal evacuation route” which may provide the population to exit the building in a limited safe time. The second method focuses on “mobilization and application of the building lifts” to expedite the evacuation process. Finally, the third method, taking into account the probability of some residents becomes unable to evacuate or face sets of difficulties because of physical disabilities, propose “defend-in place concept by constructing refuge zones or floors”. In addition, paying attention to the dimensions of the incident and building vulnerabilities against it since the beginning of the design of high-rise building and applying some alternative options to ensure safety along with the disaster management team and ongoing planning in safety management of high-rise building can contribute to effectiveness of measures.