A team of researchers at the University of Waterloo is using artificial intelligence, data science and math to help better predict how fires behave in modern homes to help save lives.
The study led by Stefan Mazzadi, a process systems engineering master’s degree student, addresses a growing challenge for fire researchers: modern furniture materials and increasingly airtight, energy-efficient homes can cause fires to behave differently than they did in the past.
“Newer construction is assumed to be more composite in nature and may not perform as long in a fire which will change the tactical decisions being made by the incident commander, such as how long a structure has been exposed to flames and high heat will directly impact how viable it is to send firefighters into a structure,” said Township of Wellesley fire chief Paul Redman, noting that their senior firefighters that have been in service for around 25 years would have seen the changes in the homebuilding process.
