Firefighters require accurate and timely information regarding a building and its environment to perform their duty safely and effectively during a fire emergency. However, due to the chaotic nature of building fires, firefighters often receive erroneous, conflicting, or delayed information that can affect the outcome of a hazard. In this paper, we propose a solution in the form of an ontology that defines building and environmental data needed by firefighters during a building fire emergency. The ontology can be a basis for developing intelligent tools and systems that collect building and environmental data from different data sources and provide comprehensive information to firefighters. It can also facilitate the data exchange process between the different personnel involved in emergency response. The ontology was developed by following the METHONTOLOGY method, and it was implemented using the web ontology language (OWL) in Protégé 5.5.0.
Firefighters employ different strategies to safeguard occupants, reduce property damage, and protect themselves during building fires. They devise their strategy based on the best available information they have at any given time (OSHA, 2015). Hence, the availability and quality of information play a vital role in the outcome of an emergency. Additionally, Firefighters should be made aware of any hazards or obstacles they may come across outside or inside the affected building ahead of time. The success of a firefighting strategy relies on providing the correct information and resources to the right people at the right time (Xu and Zlatanova, 2007).
Intelligent tools and systems that collect required data about an affected building and its surrounding from different data sources can assist firefighters in conducting their tasks with the utmost safety and effectiveness. However, before designing such systems, we need to have a well-defined understanding of firefighters’ data requirements. Ontologies can be used to establish such understanding. They enable us to develop machine-understandable definitions of different concepts in a given domain along with their relationships (Noy and McGuinness, 2001). Through ontologies, a shared understanding of a domain between people and systems can be established (Neto et al., 2021).
In this documentation, we present an ontology that models firefighters’ data requirements. The ontology will represent the data firefighters require regarding different elements and features inside an affected building and its surrounding. The ontology can then be used to design systems that gather and integrate data from different data sources and provide comprehensive information to firefighters during building fires. Having a well-defined data requirement will also facilitate the data exchange process through various mediums between the different personnel involved in the emergency response (Jones et al., 2005). Understanding how first responders interact with building features can also assist building designers in designing structures that ensure firefighters’ safety and provide necessary firefighting features (OSHA, 2015).
Requirements | Descriptions |
Domain | Building fire emergency |
Purpose | Building an ontology to represent data regarding several features and components of a building and its surroundings that firefighters need when responding to building fires. |
Scope | The focus is on data about an affected building, its different components, and its surrounding. |
Intended use |
The ontology can be a basis for developing tools and systems that
gather essential data about a building and its surroundings and
provide the collected data to firefighters in an integrated form.
It can also facilitate the data exchange process between different personnel involved in emergency response. |
Knowledge source |
Scientific papers: (Li et al., 2014), (Isikdag, Underwood and
Aouad, 2008), (Jones et al., 2005), (Ghodrat et al., 2021),
(Santarpia et al., 2019), and (Heron et al., 2003).
Manual: (OSHA, 2015). International codes: (ICC, 2018a), and (ICC, 2018b). |
ffdr | <https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology> |
owl | <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl> |
rdf | <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns> |
terms | <http://purl.org/dc/terms> |
xml | <http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace> |
xsd | <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema> |
rdfs | <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema> |
This ontology has the following classes and properties.
The firefighters’ data Requirement ontology represents concepts regarding the data firefighters need about an affected building, the building’s features, and the building’s surroundings. In protégé, several classes were created to represent different concepts. OWL provides the ObjectProperty feature to represent the relationship between two classes and the DatatypeProperty feature to represent the relationship from a class to a data value (McGuinness and van Harmelen, 2004). We have used both features extensively in the ontology.
In this section, the ontology is described with the help of figures (Figure 1 – 3). In the first two figures, the following convention is used. The red box emphasizes a class, and the yellow boxes represent all other classes related to the class in the red box. Different lines are used to represent different relationships. Solid lines with a black ‘is a’ text indicate subclass relationship. Solid lines with a blue text indicate ObjectProperty relationship between classes, and broken lines with a green text indicate DatatypeProperty relationship from a class to a data value. Lastly, the deep purple blocks indicate instances of a class. Sometimes a thick black arrow is extended from a class to indicate the existence of more information that is not shown in the figure. And a yellow box with three dots is used to indicate the existence of more subclasses.
The ontology uses IncidentSite class to represent the site where the building with fire hazard is located. This class is shown in a red box in Figure 1. The class is related to IncidentBuilding, SurroundingTerrain, SurroundingStructure, FireCommandCenter and WeatherCondition classes. The IncidentBuilding class represents the building where the fire hazard occurred. The classes SurroundingTerrain and SurroundingStructure represent the terrain and structures surrounding the incident building, respectively. The FireCommandCenter class is related to the ControlPanel class, which represents the different control panels firefighters would want to locate and use to control several building systems and utilities. The IncidentSite class is also related to the Address class, which captures several types of addresses required during a building emergency.
The SurroundingStructure class represents all artificial and natural structures surrounding the incident building. The subclass of SurroundingStructure represents powerlines, pipelines, hazardous materials, and obstructions such as fences. Vegetation surrounding an incident building is represented using the Vegetation class. A fire lane is an access road designated for the passage of fire apparatus (ICC, 2018b). This class is also a subclass of the Road class. In addition to the fire lane, the Road class represents the road that leads to the incident site (RoadToIncident).
Fire hydrants are essential for most fire suppression operations since they provide access to a water supply system. We modelled information that should be provided to firefighters in advance to locate and connect to a fire hydrant rapidly. The FireHydrant class is related to two classes representing water sources and hose connections. We also connected all other concepts in our ontology related to some form of hose connection to HoseConnection class.
Several information requirements about the incident building are modelled as properties of the IncidentBuilding class. A complete list of the requirements can be seen in Figure 2. The figure also shows the relationship between IncidentBuilding and other classes. These classes include the BuildingOccupancy class, which represents a building’s occupancy based on the international building code (ICC, 2018a), the BuildingComponent class, which represents information about the different components of the building, and the ConstructionType class with its five possible alternatives (ICC, 2018a).
The BuildingComponent class has several subclasses representing different building elements and systems firefighters interact with during their operations (see Figure 3(A)). BuildingSafetySystem is the largest subclass of BuildingComponent. Several subclasses are defined for BuildingSafetySystem that capture information about the different fire safety systems found inside buildings. The complete list is shown in Figure 3(B). An automatic fire extinguishing system refers to sprinkler systems or another automatic fire extinguisher system installed in a building. In most buildings, a sprinkler system is separated into coverage zones (OSHA, 2015). This information is valuable to firefighters because the fire can be located based on the active sprinkler zone. The Fire alarm system and other sensors and detectors are also divided into different zones. A standpipe system is a system of pipes in a building that provides water for manual firefighting and, in some cases, to sprinkler systems (OSHA, 2015). A fire department connection (FDC) is an inlet through which firefighters feed water into the standpipe system. In contrast, fire hose connections (FHC) are outlets of the standpipe system inside the building where firefighters can connect their fire hoses (OSHA, 2015).
In addition to safety systems, other building components firefighters may interact with are also captured in the ontology. This includes several building utilities that usually need to be shut down or at least controlled during fire emergencies (OSHA, 2015). Firefighters should also be informed of the location and type of any hazardous material they may come across in the building. Information regarding the façade of an incident building is essential for firefighters. Some rooftop elements could be helpful in some firefighting operations, but they can also cause hazards. For instance, skylights can be used to ventilate a building, but they can also cause firefighters to fall through (OSHA, 2015). Limited information about structural and nonstructural building elements is modelled in the ontology to not overload firefighters with excess information. The complete list of the nonstructural elements (subclasses of NonStructuralElement) is given in Figure 3(C).
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Address
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#AirSupply
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#AlarmSystemAnnunciatorPanel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#AlternativeAutomaticFireExtinguishingSystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#AreaOfRefuge
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#AutomaticFireExtinguishingSystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#AutomaticSprinklerSystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#BackUpPowerSupplySystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Balcony
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Building
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#BuildingAddress
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#BuildingComponent
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#BuildingEngineerContactAddress
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#BuildingManagerContactAddress
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#BuildingOccupancy
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#BuildingPlan
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#BuildingSafetySystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#BuildingUtilitySystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#CarbonMonoxideDetector
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#CbrSensor
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#ConcealedSpace
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#ConstructionType
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#ControlPanel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Door
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#DoorUnlockingSystemControlPanel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Elevator
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#ElevatorOverrideControlPanel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#EmergencyPowerOutlet
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#EmergencyServiceProvider
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#EmergencyServiceProviderContactAddress
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#ExteriorDoor
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#ExteriorWall
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#ExteriorWindow
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#ExtremelyValuableMaterial
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Facade
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FarsControlPanel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FarsFillStation
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FireAlarmSystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FireandSmokeProtectionElement
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FireBarrier
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FireCommandCenter
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FireDepartmentCommunicationSystemPanel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FireDepartmentConnection
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FireHoseConnection
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FireHydrant
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FireLane
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FirePartition
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FirePump
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FireServiceOrganization
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Firewall
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FloorAssembly
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#GasDetector
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#GasSupplySystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Hallway
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#HazardousMaterial
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#HazardousSubstance
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Helipad
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#HoseConnection
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Hospital
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#HvacSystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#IncidentBuilding
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#IncidentSite
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#KeyBox
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#MassNotificationSystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#MassNotificationSystemControlPanel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Material
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#MunicipalDistributionSystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#NonStructuralElement
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Obstruction
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#OwnerContactAddress
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#ParkingLot
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Pipeline
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#PoliceDepartment
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#PortableFireExtinguisher
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#PowerLine
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#PrimaryPowerSupplySystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#PublicSafetyAgencyContactAddress
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Ramp
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Road
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#RoadToIncident
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#RoofAssembly
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#RoofTopElement
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#SensorDetector
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#ShaftEnclosure
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#SmokeandHeatRemovalSystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#SmokeBarrier
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#SmokeControlSystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#SmokeControlSystemControlPanel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#SmokePartition
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Stairway
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#StandpipeSystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#StaticWaterSource
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#StructuralElement
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#SurroundingStructure
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#SurroundingTerrain
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#UtilityContactAddress
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#UtilityControlPanel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Vegetation
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#VerticalOpening
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Wall
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#WaterSource
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#WaterSupplyandSewerageSystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#WeatherCondition
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Window
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#contains
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasAddress
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasBuildingPlan
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasComponent
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasConnectionWith
has characteristics: symmetric
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasConstructionType
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasControlPanel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasFireExtinguishingSystem
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasHoseConnection
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasMaterial
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasOccupancy
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasShaftEnclosure
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasWaterSource
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasWeatherCondition
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isAddressOf
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isBuildingPlanOf
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isComponentOf
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isConstructionTypeOf
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isContainedBy
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isControlPanelOf
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isFireExtinguishingSystemOf
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isHoseConnectionOf
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isMaterialOf
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isOccupancyOf
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isShaftEnclosureOf
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isWaterSourceOf
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isWeatherConditionOf
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasAccessBarrierType
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasAnglesOfApproach
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasArea
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasBuildingArea
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasBuildingHeight
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasCapacity
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasClass
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasCondition
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasCoverageZone
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasDemography
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasDescription
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasDirectionToExit
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasDischargeLevel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasDistanceFromFDC
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasDistanceFromIncidentBuilding
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasDistanceFromWaterSource
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasEnclosedArea
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasExitTravelDistances
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasFillPressure
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasFillTime
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasFireExtinguisherRating
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasFireFlow
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasFireResistanceRating
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasFlammabilityLevel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasFloorsServed
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasHazardLevel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasHealthHazardSeverityLevel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasHeight
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasID
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasInstabilityLevel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasIsolationValveLocation
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasKey
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasKeyLocated
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasLocation
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasLocationOfControlValve
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasMachineRoomLocation
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasNumberOfExit
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasNumberOfInlet
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasNumberOfOutlet
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasNumberOfSimultaneousFill
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasNumberOfStory
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasNumberOfSublevel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasOccupantLoad
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasOpeningDirection
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasPrecipitationValue
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasPressure
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasRelativeHumidity
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasRequiredMaximumPressure
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasRequiredMinimumPressure
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasSize
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasSlope
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasSpecialHazard
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasSpecies
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasStatus
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasTemperature
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasThickness
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasTimeMark
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasTrafficLevel
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasTurningRadius
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasType
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasTypeOfSignalInitiator
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasVerticalClearance
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasWidth
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasWindDirection
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#hasWindSpeed
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#includeHazardousOperation
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isAbandoned
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isAccessible
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isControlValveOn
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isDecontaminationRequired
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isExit
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isFunctional
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isInAlarm
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isIsolationValveOpen
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isLightweightConstruction
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isOnExterior
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isPrimaryFireServiceEntryPoint
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isQualifiedForEvacuation
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isRoofAccess
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isShaftway
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isSystemActivated
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#isUtilityRunning
IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/abstract
IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/creator
IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/description
IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/language
IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/license
IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/title
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Assembly
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Business
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Educational
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#FactoryAndIndustrial
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#HighHazard
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Institutional
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Mercantile
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Residential
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#Storage
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#TypeI
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#TypeII
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#TypeIII
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#TypeIV
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#TypeV
IRI: https://purl.org/ffdr-ontology#UtilityAndMiscellaneous
The authors would like to thank Silvio Peroni for developing LODE, a Live OWL Documentation Environment, which is used for representing the Cross Referencing Section of this document and Daniel Garijo for developing Widoco, the program used to create the template used in this documentation.
This project is receiving funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 860555.