Fire and evacuation modelling for a pharmaceutical cleanroom facility

Abstract

Fire incident and subsequent evacuation from a pharmaceutical cleanroom facility possess an interesting problem because of the unique operating condition and occupant characteristics that exist in such facility. In the present study, fire and evacuation modelling and safety analysis of a typical pharmaceutical cleanroom facility in Bangladesh is performed. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool PyroSim is used for simulating the fire in the cleanroom and evacuation analysis is performed using a continuous egress modeling software, Pathfinder. In simulating the fire and smoke propagation as well as the evacuation scenario, commonly practiced values, protocols and fuel load characteristics in the pharmaceutical industries of Bangladesh are employed. Two different fire scenarios are considered with a variation in the fuel load and type (ethanol and cardboard), and the location of the origin of the fire. The propagation of smoke and fire, temperature distribution around the cleanroom, concentration of toxic gases and visibility at different sections of the cleanroom are examined. It is found that for the case of the high fuel load in the packaging section in the 1st floor, 12 occupants fail to safely evacuate from the 5-storied pharmaceutical building. The effects of different specific operating characteristics and practices particular to a cleanroom facility on theoccupant evacuationare considered and analyzed.Fire incident and subsequent evacuation from a pharmaceutical cleanroom facility possess an interesting problem because of the unique operating condition and occupant characteristics that exist in such facility. In the present study, fire and evacuation modelling and safety analysis of a typical pharmaceutical cleanroom facility in Bangladesh is performed. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool PyroSim is used for simulating the fire in the cleanroom and evacuation analysis is performed using a continuous egress modeling software, Pathfinder. In simulating the fire and smoke propagation as well as the evacuation scenario, commonly practiced values, protocols and fuel load characteristics in the pharmaceutical industries of Bangladesh are employed. Two different fire scenarios are considered with a variation in the fuel load and type (ethanol and cardboard), and the location of the origin of the fire. The propagation of smoke and fire, temperature distribution around the cleanroom, concentration of toxi...