A Physics-Based Model for Post-Earthquake Fire Spread considering Damage to Building Components Caused by Seismic Motion and Heating by Fire

The prototype model previously developed by the authors was improved in order to simulate the behavior of fire spread in an earthquake-affected urban area. In the new model, seismic motion and heating by fire are both considered as the causes of damage to building components. The damage affects the burning behavior of a fire-involved building, as well as the behavior of building-to-building fire spread. For validation of the new model, a simulation of the fire spread that followed 1995 Kobe earthquake was conducted. The behavior of the fire spread obtained by the numerical simulation was compared with the observed data. Reasonable agreement was obtained with regard to the number of burned buildings.