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The objectives of this article are to present the findings of a case study conducted to determine the optimal emergency egress time for the main library of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, using an evacuation simulation model; discuss the importance of the use of evacuation simulation models to architects, fire protection engineers and facilities managers; and demonstrate the importance of using an evacuation simulation model in understanding evacuation performance and conducting building safety assessment.

The authors have reviewed the published literature in the field of evacuation analysis considering level of service (LOS) as a significant factor; studied the input requirements of the evacuation simulation model EVACNET4 and estimated the same for the library facility at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals; and examined selected results and validated the same using FPETool.

The study revealed that the evacuation times obtained using both EVACNET4 and FPETool for the library are different and vary 49 seconds in magnitude.

Risk to life as a result of fire in buildings is a key concern for facility managers, architects and insurance companies. This study could be of practical help to fire protection engineers and facilities managers from the viewpoint of emergency evacuation planning in specific facilities, and to architects during the process of designing the spatial layout of the library facility, where even minor changes in the layout can have large impacts on egress time.

The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated approach to fire safety assessment, through combining the outcomes of a checklist tailored to the requirements of the International Building Code (IBC), and an evacuation simulation tool (EVACNET4), applied to a student housing facility as case study.

The authors reviewed relevant literature and previous studies pertaining to fire safety assessment and management. An assessment checklist was developed according to the requirements of the IBC. EVACNET4 simulation tool was utilized to model the evacuation of the facility under review. The results derived from the aforementioned steps were correlated to identify potential corroborating or conflicting issues pertaining to the safe evacuation of building occupants in the occurrence of a fire incident.

Fire safety provisions were found to be adequate, and the building can be evacuated safely in about 190 seconds, should a fire occur. The architectural design aspects of the exit doors which might cause potential bottlenecks were identified.

A completely fire safe building does not exist, and thus more integrative approaches to fire safety assessment and management will reduce to the least extent possible fire risks. A holistic fire safety management of campus housing is of paramount interest to the campus community, and the building industry at large.