# Visual Language-Aided Construction Fire Safety Planning Approach in Building Information Modeling
###### Abstract  
Fires pose an enormous threat to human safety and many spectacular fires in under-construction buildings were reported over the past few years. Many construction sites only rely on fire extinguishers, as under-construction buildings do not contain a permanent fire protection system. Traditional safety planning lacks a justified approach for the firefighting equipment installation planning in the construction job site. Even though many government agencies made safety regulations for firefighting equipment installations, it is still a challenge to translate and execute these rules at the job site. Currently, the construction industry is devoted to discovering all the possible applications of Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology in the entire phases of the project life cycle. BIM technology enables the presentation of facilities in 3-D and offers rule-based modeling through visual programming tools. Therefore, this paper focuses on a visual language approach for rule translation and a multi-agent-based construction fire safety planning simulation in BIM. The proposed approach includes three core modules, namely: (a) Rule Extraction and Logic Development (RELD) Module, (b) Design for Construction Fire Safety (DCFS) Module, and (c) Con-fire Safety Plan Simulation (CSPS) Module. In addition, the DCFS module further includes three submodules, named as (1) Firefighting Equipment Installation (FEI) Module, (2) Bill of Quantities (BoQs) for firefighting Equipment (BFE) Module, and (3) Escape Route Plan (ERP) Module. The RELD module converts the OSHA fire safety rule into mathematical logic, and the DCFS module presents the development of the Con-fire Safety Planning approach by translating the rules from mathematical logic into computer-readable language. The three sub-modules of the DCFS module visualize the outputs of this research work. The CSPS module uses a multi-agent simulation to verify the safety rule compliance of the portable firefighting equipment installation plan the system in a BIM environment. A sample project case study has been implemented to validate the proof of concept. It is anticipated that the proposed approach has the potential to helps the designers through its effectiveness and convenience while it could be helpful in the field for practical use. fire safety rule; visual language; building information modeling; portable firefighting equipment +
Footnote †: journal: Applied  
in construction since sites under construction are often at high risk of fire due for several reasons. First, workers usually are exposed to combustible substances, and the presence of wind around the unfinished buildings can immediately cause a fire [2]. Secondly, construction sites only rely on fire extinguishers or sometimes water tanks, as under-construction buildings do not possess permanent and adequate fire protection systems [3]. Thirdly, the unique nature of the construction industry is the reasons for high risks, such as a complex working environment, a certain amount of wastes, unskilled workers, and many other hazards itself [4]. Many people become seriously injured or die due to fire accidents each year [5]. Fire incidents came into existence with the use of fire after its discovery and are intimately related to the progression of human civilization [6]. Regarding the general statistics of fire accidents, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported deaths of more than 300,000 people annually by fire-induced burns. Unfortunately, disturbing statistics are that 95 percent or more of these deaths happen in low-income and middle-income countries [5]. According to the recent report published in Bureau of Labor statistics in 2019, fire and explosion were responsible for 115 workplace deaths in 2018 and 123 deaths in 2017, which is slightly higher than the 88 fatalities recorded in 2016 [7]. The data published in 2018 by the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that every year, 66 construction workers are killed due to fires and explosion [8].