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Improving terminal fire safety with minor impact on operational continuity using performancebased design
Journal of Airport Management,
18
(1),
32-59
(2023)
Abstract
Bologna Airport is dealing with a significant increase in passenger flows. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic, traffic volume is rapidly growing and will soon exceed previous traffic records. Against this background, the airport has supported new infrastructure investments in order to both optimise existing terminal functional use and to comply with stringent fire safety requirements on terminal buildings, in line with new Italian airport safety legislation. In particular, Bologna Airport has planned a short-term investment specifically regarding the Terminal Smoke Management System, consisting of smoke vents and smoke extraction fans that work in coordination with fire detection systems and other fire suppression systems already installed into the building, and with the Terminal Fire Emergency Plan. For this kind of system, the Italian laws and standards set a basic prescriptive approach that simplifies the design phase with conservative solutions, with invasive, costly and time-consuming installations that are generally not compatible with operational continuity needs for terminal areas. As an alternative, a performance-based design approach is allowed for more customised solutions, focusing more closely on the design phase and terminal functional strategy. This case study shows how Bologna Airport implemented a performance-based design approach in order to minimise the impact of the new system installation throughout the terminal, optimising the engineering solutions with no constraints from the terminal functional flexibility point of view as well as saving over 75 per cent costs and construction time, compared to a traditional prescriptive approach.
Keywords: safety; flexibility; performance-based fire strategy; fire safety engineering; operational continuity
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Michele Di Franco has more than 20 years’ experience in infrastructure and airport design, consultancy and development, working with the most important architects and airport consultants in different countries, solving a range of issues on systems development and fire safety strategies, from the concept to the operational phases, including set-up, commissioning and improvement of existing systems. His activity often focuses on the forecast of future needs, setting a clear but flexible path to steer the airport towards new technical issues, identifying multi-energy development strategies, safety-related solutions that preserve flexibility and continuous changes in an airport layout, optimising passenger comfort and experience and operational continuity.
Diego Cecchinato has eight years’ experience as a firefighter. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with postgraduate specialisation in fire safety and fire engineering ‘SAFEng’ at Ferrara University. He started his professional career in fire engineering collaborating with some of the most important fire-fighting companies in Italy and abroad, carrying out consultancy on certifications and research and development. Diego then funded his specialised company in fire safety consultancy to support architectural and engineering companies, in civil, industrial, and oil and gas fields.
Daniele Andriotto is a civil engineer specialising in structures. After graduation he completed postgraduate specialisation in fire safety and fire engineering ‘SAFEng’ at Ferrara University. Daniele mainly deals with the design and renovation of structures to fire resistance with a fire safety engineering approach through the use of specific software. He is a teacher in several training courses for fire-fighting professionals. Daniele funded his specialised company in fire safety consultancy to support architectural and engineering companies. Since the beginning of his professional career, he has already been involved in numerous projects, both as a main designer and as a support consultant.
