Proposing the simplified model for choosing the method of retrofitting in existing structures against fire risk

Background and objective: According to the necessities in the part 3 of National Building Regulations, design and construction of buildings should be in a way that the structures, according to the type of use, the size and the number of floors, resist long enough to fire, and prevent from destruction of buildings or from spread of fire to adjacent spaces or buildings. For this purpose, it is necessary to provide the regulations necessities based on the level of fire protection in designing whole structural elements in newly build constructions, and control the performance of these elements in all existing buildings in the country. Method: As fire safety actions necessities in the part 3 of the National Building Regulations are presented in qualitative terms and the existing technical guidelines in the field of structural reinforcement of buildings to fire protections are mainly in line with the architectural design approach, therefore, presenting an integrated and flexible decision model based on the basics of the part 3 of the National Building Regulations and on the basis of a review of the technical research carried out on the structural reinforcement methods of existing buildings for possible fire scenarios can be applied to the building reinforcement plans to fire. Findings: In this paper, based on categorization of the possible types of occupation in buildings use in the country, a rapid decision-making model presented to evaluate the building structural vulnerability against fire and deciding to choose the best strategy for structural reinforcement method considering type of occupation and application, size and number of floors, and kind of materials of structural load system. Results: An algorithm based on a simplified decision model based on the integration of existing regulations with the results of laboratory and analytical studies can be used to quickly estimate the structural and non-structural protection of closed building spaces in the country and to facilitate the process of retrofitting vulnerable spaces in order to ensure adequate time for fire-fighting and preventing from destruction of buildings or from spread of fire to adjacent spaces or buildings.