Martin Trčka

This study examines whether a train fire near an evacuation interface in a railway tunnel can create an adverse configuration relevant to evacuation design and collective risk assessment. It focuses on twin single-track tunnels, in which the parallel tunnel serves as a safe area, and evacuation is carried out through cross-passages and boundary portals. If a fire impairs such an interface, evacuees may be forced to continue to a more distant exit. The problem is formulated as a geometric-probabilistic screening task. The model calculates the probability that, after the train has stopped, the fire lies within a tolerance zone around an evacuation interface. The probability is derived analytically using deterministic convolution and verified via Monte Carlo simulation for trains with lengths of 200 m and 400 m. This verification concerns mathematical calculation only, not the physical, smoke, operational, or evacuation assumptions. The geometric probability is linked to collective risk through representative train fire frequencies, external consequence indicators, and selected F/N criteria. With ε = 37 m and portals included as boundary evacuation interfaces of the finite tunnel domain, the adverse-configuration probabilities are similar: approximately 14.0% for the 200 m train and 14.6% for the 400 m train. The difference becomes decisive only after considering the magnitude of the consequences and the traffic intensity. Under the reference assumptions, the 400 m high-occupancy case reaches the selected Dutch criterion at about four train passages per day. A fire near an evacuation interface, therefore, cannot be treated as marginal solely because the tunnel meets the 500 m cross-passage spacing requirement. Acceptability depends on geometry, occupancy, fire frequency, the definition of consequences, traffic intensity, and the selected risk framework. The homogeneous fire-origin distribution is used only as a neutral first-order assumption; more refined spatial fire-origin models and broader comparisons across safety criteria are needed.

This study deals with the Fire Growth Rate Index (FIGRA) as a key fire characteristic of electrical cables (determined by a cone calorimeter) that allows to estimate their reaction to fire class. Three power (supply) electrical cables (reaction to fire class B2ca) were tested by a cone calorimeter using different heat fluxes of 20, 30, 40 a 50 kW·m−2. The cables were three-wire (cross-section of each wire was 1.5 mm2) with a nominal voltage of 0.6 kV (alternating current), resp. 1 kV (direct current). The cable sheaths were made of an ethylene copolymer filled with aluminum hydroxide. The beddings were made of an ethylene copolymer filled with a mixture of aluminum hydroxide and calcium carbonate. The conductor insulations of one electrical cable were made of crosslinked polyethylene and the conductor insulations of the other two electrical cables were made of an ethylene copolymer filled with aluminum hydroxide. FIGRA was determined per unit length and unit area of electrical cables. FIGRA increased with increasing heat flux. At a heat flux of 50 kW·m−2, all the electric cables examined showed a very similar FIGRA (from 0.19 to 0.21 kW·m−1·s−1 and 18.4 to 21.2 kW·m−1·s−1, respectively). Conversely, at a heat flux of 20 kW·m−2, the investigated cables showed greater FIGRA variance (in the range of 0.11 to 0.16 kW·m−1·s−1 or 10.8 to 16.2 kW·m−1·s−1).

Introduction. Tanks and tank farms are widespread in many constituent entities of the Russian Federation and are among the most important elements of the model for the production, treatment, transportation and processing of oil and oil products. It is relevant both at the Russian and global levels to ensure that fire safety is arranged for tank farms to reduce highest risk levels according to the risk-based safety model. In the context of information and communication technology (ICT) developments and introduction of ICT into the operation and management of various facilities, over the past decades advanced methods have emerged for predicting the occurrence and development of emergency situations at facilities and enhancing management decisions on containment and elimination of emergency situations including fires.Goals and objectives. In this paper, the authors present a model that they developed to promptly forecast heat flows using artificial neural networks. The forecast model will improve the safety of fire brigade personnel responsible for extinguishing fires inside ground-based vertical steel tanks having protective walls. In the research, the authors place special emphasis on identifying dependence between the heat flow and the wind load. Methods. To achieve this goal, the authors arranged and conducted a series of experiments, collected experimental data on heat flows, and created training and test samples.Results. Dependences between heat flows and environmental factors were identified by constructing adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems or adaptive network-based fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS). Various types of membership functions, optimisation and system generation methods were compared and it was found out that for ANFISs, prediction of heat flows with regard to and disregarding wind loads were optimal, if subcluster and hybrid optimisation methods were used, as they had lowest error values for samples.Discussion. The analysis shows that wind speed and tank location can rise temperatures of the air, tank wall and petrol. Therefore, despite the complexity of the analysis, the regard for all these factors makes it possible to identify a safe distance between a burning tank and firefighters.Conclusions. The research made it possible to develop a model for prompt heat flow forecasting with the help of artificial intelligence elements (ANFIS). The results obtained in the course of the work make it possible to increase the efficiency of prompt forecasting of the dynamic behaviour of fire inside tanks and tank farms and optimize managerial decision-making by responsible persons.

This article is a reflection of civil defence training as a basic element of education. The research focuses on the period after the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 to the time before World War II in 1939. The aim of the research is to explore the basic approaches to the implementation of civil defence training in terms of the creation of a new state and in relation to civil defence education in Czechoslovakia. A comparative historical analysis forms the basis of the research into the issue of statehood through education. The comparative historical analysis method is used as a specific tool for qualitative research. This is a procedure which can be applied to the basic elements of the statehood issue in education, through which it is possible to learn more about this phenomenon and subsequently explain it. Perceptions and ideas about the tasks of the state have gradually changed and evolved. This includes the creation and development of the legal order, and the provision of security and public order within the state. Civil defence training was targeted in such a way as to create an environment in which every citizen, irrespective of their nationality, religion, political opinion and social environment, had the physical and mental ability and willingness to enthusiastically and faithfully fulfil their civic duties.