Assessment of structures repeatedly exposed to thermal loading and extinguishing water: a case study of a firefighting training facility

Abstract

When designing a new structure or assessing an existing one, the risk of fire and its effect on the structure must be considered. Structures are usually assessed for fire resistance at the design stage – i.e. before the possible exposure to fire. If structure is exposed to fire during its service life, a post-fire assessment must be conducted in order to evaluate whether the structure is still safe and reliable for use. The post-fire assessment is conducted quite regularly; however, the assessment is usually conducted for structures exposed to fire only once. This paper presents an interesting and unique case study of a post-fire structural analysis of a firefighting training facility exposed to cyclic fire loading and the effect of extinguishing water. The main conclusion of the study is that though means of protection are recommended, the structure still has a sufficient load-bearing capacity and can continue being used as a firefighting training facility in the future. Aside from the specific conclusions for the investigated structure, this paper presents the best practices and methods for the post-fire assessment of structures exposed to repeated fire loading, and can thus be used as a guidance by other engineers and researchers interested in this topic.