Evacuation of Lisbon’s Baixa-Chiado subway station in case of fire

Abstract

It is essential to ensure that any building has conditions for a safe evacuation of its occupants. This aspect is essential in subway stations, where evacuation has to be carried out in an upward way, and usually correspond to large structures constituting a single fire compartment. Baixa-Chiado subway station, in Lisbon, Portugal, was selected for studying the evacuation in case of fire, due to its depth, high number of passengers that frequent the station and the existing of two intersecting train lines. A calculation of evacuation time was calculated and the way of evacuation studied, in different fire scenarios, number and location of occupants. The numerical simulations used Fire Dynamics Simulator and Pathfinder softwares, the first for fire spreading and the second for evacuation analysis. The importance of smoke control system, and its rapid activation in case of fire, was highlighted by the results obtained. In situations where this did not occur, there was a significant worsening in the evacuation of the occupants. It was estimated the incapacitation of a significant number of occupants, considering the levels registered for the fractional effective dose. The station’s architectural constraints proved to be a crucial factor in the results of the study. This article highlights important results applicable to subway stations around the world.