The main aim of WUIVIEW project is to design, setup, test and operate a virtual workbench service for the performance-based analysis of fire environments in the surroundings of buildings at the wildland-urban interface. In line with the objectives of the Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism and the present Call for proposals, the WUIVIEW action will develop and innovative risk management tool that will help WUI communities adapting to face the new generation of forest fires that have already arisen due to climate change. Once implemented, WUIVIEW will become a powerful platform to perform essays and simulation studies dealing with structures survivability, sheltering assessment, building subsystems hazard testing and fire protection systems evaluation. The development of the system will improve knowledge base on microscale fuels fire hazards and on building systems and materials vulnerability, which will be of help to develop better policies and standards to prevent WUI disasters.

WUIVIEW service will cover important needs of current European WUI fire-prone areas (Mediterranean) and of emerging new WUI-fire realities (Northern countries), which are expected to increase in the coming years. In one hand, human pressure in the landscape is continuously growing in Europe and wildfire potential is also increasing associated with housing developments and climate change, leading to new WUI-fire prone regions. On the other hand, innovative design solutions and new materials (e.g. biobased) are certainly appearing from the building and construction sector all over Europe. WUIVIEW will definitely serve as a workbench service to test and develop more resilient emerging WUI-fire scenarios.

The project is also educational oriented. The WUIVIEW outputs and outcomes will finally lead to a higher degree of awareness between fire practitioners and more educated residents at the wildland-urban interface.

Result 1

The WUIVIEW project will improve knowledge base on WUI microscale fire risk management. Fire agencies, home-owners, fire practitioners, regulatory bodies and researchers will benefit from this result. Target-specific material will be generated within the framework of the Action: educational leaflets (WUI communities), guidelines for microscale management (home-owners and fire agencies), PBD good practicing (fire practitioners), scientific-based recommendations for policy improvement (regulatory bodies), and research articles (scientific community) will be available at the WUIVIEW portal.

Result 2 and 3

The WUIVIEW project will improve awareness on WUI microscale fire risk management problem Target activities of different nature (workshops, webinars, conferences, posts in social networks) will help disseminating the needs addressed and the solutions provided by this Action. Furthermore, these activities will help strengthening the links between relevant WUI-fire risk actors The WUIVIEW project has been conceived with a clear RRI (Responsible Research and Innovation) approach and will certainly represent a platform by which coordination and cooperation between home-owners, fire practioners, fire agencies and regulatory bodies will be promoted and motivated.

Result 4

The WUIVIEW system will provide fire practitioners with new capabilities for fire risk managing engineering, research, and fire safety building design. Professionals will have available a new tool for fire risk analysis, based on an open-source code, so that they will have free access to the modelling library and database to undertake performance-based simulations. Fire engineers and architects will have advanced technology available to develop new skills to face emerging WUI fire safety problems. This may ultimately lead to develop new career and growth opportunities within the framework of fire DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction) services.

These results are clearly in line with the Prevention Call Priority objectives of achieving a higher level of resilience against disasters, particularly those exacerbated by climate change. The WUIVIEW Action will definitely foster a culture of WUI fire disasters prevention: WUIVIEW will improve knowledge and awareness, will provide and promote risk assessment strategies and will drive engagement of different societal actors. It is with more aware, educated and capable WU-fire actors that a higher level of protection will be achieved.

The work planned is programmed in three main phases (Figure 1). To set up the WUIVIEW simulation framework (Phase 1), we will characterize fire hazard of ornamental vegetation (WP2) and non-vegetal WUI fuels and LPG infrastructures (WP3). A detailed survey on fire protection systems and thermal properties of building materials together with a review on building codes and regulations will also be undertaken (WP4).

In the analysis (phase 2) we will get insights on the response to fire of typical building systems and materials relying on PBD methodology. Based on a predefined inventory of pattern scenarios (WP5) and using previously gathered fire hazard and building characteristics, we will run WUI fire simulations to analyse homes survivability and sheltering capacity (WP6) under different conditions.

WUIVIEW has originally been conceived to become a consultancy service to assess WUI vulnerability in real scenarios after the Action’s lifetime. The technical feasibility of the service will be demonstrated in the final phase of the project (Phase 3). WP7 will make use of the WUIVIEW workbench to assess WUI fire hazards and house fire performance of preselected (WP5) real WUI developments. The whole project will be continuously coordinated and managed through WP1. Similarly, the outputs will be disseminated during the entire duration of the project (WP8).

WP1: Management and coordination of the action

Set up and actions for management structure. Monitoring. Financial control. Quality control and backstopping. Project closure and final evaluation.

WP2: WUI Natural fuels hazard characterization

The main objective of this WP is to obtain quantitative information on real-scale fire hazard of the natural fuels typically present at the Wildland-Urban Interface. In this WP, real-scale experiments will be performed testing ornamental vegetation whose burning behaviour have not been ever quantified. In parallel, a literature survey on experimental studies involving natural fuels at the WUI, with some similarity to the ones performed in here, will be undertaken. Finally, a data base containing burning characteristics ready for simulation purposes will be set, gathering information on mass loss rate, heat release rate, flame temperatures and flame geometry.

WP3: Artificial fuels hazard characterization

The main objective of this WP is to obtain quantitative information on real-scale fire hazard of the artificial fuels and critical infrastructure typically present at the Wildland-Urban Interface. Existing information of artificial fuels commonly present at the WUI microscale will be gathered: combustible stored material, fences, household appliances, etc. Special focus on LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) will be included. Experiments to complement collected information will be performed

WP4: WUI Building and protective materials characterisation

There are two main objectives of WP2: i) to obtain quantitative information on thermal properties and fire protection characteristics of building materials and systems typically used at the Wildland-Urban Interface; ii) to review the state of the art in terms of building codes and regulations (following both prescriptive and performance-based approaches) specifically focused on WUI microscale.

WP5: Scenarios Design

In this WP we will set-up an inventory of pattern scenarios, based on previous WUIWATCH project lessons learned, to be tested in WP6 in terms of survivability and sheltering performance. We will also prepare and design scenarios for the demonstration phase (WP7). In particular, we will implement techniques of 3D object modelling to capture and transfer the information of real world cases into virtual 3D scenarios.

WP6: Testing on structure survivability and sheltering capacity

The objective of WP6 is to analyse building systems survivability and sheltering capacity following a performance-based-design (PBD) approach. Selected scenarios including 1) vulnerable building systems and 2) natural and/or artificial burning fuels will be modelled according to WP2, WP3 and WP4 findings. Fire impact will be assessed following the guidelines and performance criteria established in WP4, by means of CFD simulations (FDS and Pyrosim). Sensitivity of key variables will be studied and prevention/protection measures will be proposed.

WP7: Development of study cases (demonstration)

The objective of this WP is to showcase the methods and findings of the WUIVIEW virtual laboratory by analysing real WUI settlements. The degree of survivability and defensibility of a selected number of houses and structures will be analysed using a PBD approach. According to the outcomes of the simulations and the findings of previous WPs, a number of prevention and protection measures will be suggested to be presented to both firefighters and homeowners.

WP8: Dissemination and exploitation

Mass-media and social networks taskforce. Edition and publication of educational material. Workshop I on fire hazard at WUI microscale. Workshop II on PBD applied to WUI microscale scenarios. Interaction with specific community. Business case description of WUIVIEW.

Center for Technological Risk Studies (CERTEC)

UPC, hosts the CERTEC, which is a research organization with large experience on technological, environmental and natural risks. This mainstreaming grants it unique characteristics to deal with fire hazard characterization, vulnerability analysis and civil protection challenges. CERTEC has engineering background and experience in all types of fire incidents. CERTEC has large computational resources.

UPC will coordinate this Action and will participate in several activities related to fire hazard and building systems characterization to ensure link with subsequent WPs. UPC will coordinate all virtual essays and simulations and will participate in dissemination, particularly coordinating Workshop II on PBD applied to WUI and interacting with scientific community.

ADAI/CEIF, UNIVERSITY OF COIMBRA

The Forest Fire Research Center (CEIF) of ADAI, a non-profit Portuguese institution associated to the University of Coimbra, has a worldwide recognized expertise of 30 years of research in forest/WUI fires and hosts the largest laboratory for forest fire experimentation in Europe (LEIF). ADAI members have a wide experience on international research projects.

ADAI will coordinate natural fuels hazard characterization and experiments. ADAI will participate in 3D modelling testing, will bring its expertise on analysing case studies and will coordinate dissemination activities (noteworthy Workshop I on fire hazard at the WUI) and interact with the scientific community.

Represented by the Mines d'Alès

ARMINES, represented by Mines d’Alès, hosts the French “Laboratory of Industrial Environment Engineering” which is a European point of reference of natural-technological risk interactions. They have experimental facilities and proven experience to study burning dynamics of non-natural fuels. They have large computational resources.

ARMINES will coordinate activities devoted to artificial fuels hazard characterization focusing on infrastructures of energy supply and will participate in CFD simulation activities. Moreover, ARMINES will be strongly engaged on the organization of Workshop I and will contribute on the dissemination among the scientific community.

Pau Costa Foundation

PCF, is non-profit organization who acts as an international platform devoted to forest fire and fire ecology management, training and dissemination. PCF has a large experience in international projects and cooperation activities. PCF has strong bonds with the fire-fighting community and agencies worldwide.

PCF will bring lessons learnt from WUIWATCH in several tasks related to fire hazard characterization. PCF will lead the scenarios design activities, involving the inventory of scenarios and 3D modelling. PCF will also be in charge of demonstration workload and networks task force.

RISE, is a Swedish technical research institution with a broad focus on infrastructure as well as the built and natural environment. RISE has performed many studies on boreal forests fuels characterization, risk assessment and fire behaviour as well as characterisation of fire spread from vegetation to buildings.

RISE will undertake large-fire experiments contributing to boreal fuels characterization. RISE will define Northern WUI-fire emergent pattern scenarios and will coordinate a study case to be performed in Sweden.

UNIBO is an Italian academic institution with specific competence on safety and risk assessment. UNIBO has a worldwide recognized experience in Natech risk assessment, and has a long practice in providing technical support to Italian National and Regional Civil Protection authorities.

UNIBO will coordinate activities related to building and protective materials characterization. UNIBO will also participate in LPG infrastructure risk analysis activities and sheltering modelling.

The Generalitat fire-fighter service

The Generalitat fire-fighter service, with personnel of over 5,000, carries out prevention and extinction of fires and rescue tasks assigned to the Government of Catalonia and coordinates its services all over the territory except in the city of Barcelona, which has its own fire-fighter service. Generalitat fire-fighters intervene in all kinds of emergencies: fires in homes, in industries, vegetation, landslides, rescue services in different mountain contexts, water, homes, railway infrastructures, rescuing people from traffic accidents, floods, etc. At the same time, they work on prevention, both to minimise the risk of accidents and to be better prepared in the case of these happening.

The Catalan Fire Safety Cluster (CLUSIC)

The Catalan Fire Safety Cluster (CLUSIC), is an organisation created by a group of companies in order to cooperate and increase their competitiveness through internationalization, their knowledge of the market, the development of joint projects and the implementation of broad-ranging strategies. The CLUSIC, unlike other associations in the same field, seeks to establish a common ground for the concerns and needs of all those agents involved in the value chain, including technology and product suppliers, and service protection providers, in both passive and active protection fields.

TECNIFUEGO

TECNIFUEGO is an association of Spanish industrial companies on fire safety, providing services, products and devices for fire protection. Tecnifuego hosts the Technical Secretariat of AENOR CTN23 on Fire Safety.

Corpo Nazionale dei Vigili del Fuoco

The Department of firefighters, public rescue and civil defense is composed by eight central directorates, eighteen regional offices and one hundred provincial commands, with around eight hundred stations throughout the country. National Fire Corps is part of the Department that depends on the Ministry of the Interiors. It operates all over Italy, except Valle d'Aosta region, Bolzano and Trento provinces, with around 35.000 professional and volunteer units.

According to the national law, the National Fire Corps is the key part of the civil protection system. The Corps also carries out rescue services abroad, within the framework of international agreements on people rescue in case of emergencies.

MSB – Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap

The MSB is responsible for issues concerning civil protection, public safety, emergency management and civil defence in Sweden. MSB works via knowledge enhancement, support, training, exercises, regulation, etc. in close cooperation with the municipalities, county councils, the private sector and various organisations to achieve greater security and safety at all levels of society.

Regional Agency for Territorial Security and Civil Protection Emilia-Romagna

The Agency coordinates interventions at regional level to deal with emergencies and to allow for a return to normal living conditions. It adopts and coordinates urgent interventions and action plans for securing the territory and reducing risk; it prepares the regional plan for emergency preparation and management and the regional forecasting and prevention programs. It issues alerts when possible weather events could cause risky situations for citizens and the territory.

Ministerio de Fomento – Subdirección general de arquitectura y edificación

Ministry of Infrastructures, Directorate General for Architecture, Housing and Land that aims to i) strategically develop, review and update the technical regulations of the state scope of application in the building; ii) Contribute to the recovery of the architectural heritage; iii) disseminate, as a priority in international environment, excellence in architecture produced in Spain.

National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority

ANEPC is the national authority in matters of emergency and civil protection, being a central service, directly administered by the State, endowed with administrative and financial autonomy and its own assets. ANEPC's mission is to plan, coordinate and execute emergency and civil protection policies, namely in the prevention and response to major accidents and catastrophes, for the protection and assistance of populations, coordination of civil protection agents, under the terms legally provided for, and ensure the planning and coordination of national needs in the area of emergency civil planning, with a view to coping with crisis or war situations.

Instituto da Conservaçao da Natureza e das Florestas

ICNF is a public institute integrated in the indirect administration of the State, endowed with administrative, financial autonomy and its own assets. Its mission is to propose, monitor and ensure the implementation of nature and forest conservation policies, aiming at conservation, sustainable use, enhancement, enjoyment and public recognition of the natural heritage.