Use of the FDS program for effective determination of spacing distances when dealing with fire safety solution for buildings, Slovak case study

Fire safety solutions for buildings in Slovakia are addressed by legislation and Slovak technical standards, which are not legally binding, but their wording is mandatory if they are referred to in an implementing regulation. Fire safety solutions for buildings in Slovakia are therefore mainly limited by legislation and technical standards. The use of fire models in fire safety solutions for buildings is common worldwide, but these tools are not used in Slovakia. Their use is not prohibited by law, but it is always necessary to prove the applicability and correctness of the outputs. The paper deals with a case study of Slovak implementation of fire models when discussing the stand-off distances from fully fire-opened areas. The research addresses fire safety solutions for buildings under the conditions of the Slovak Republic. To utilize fire models in practice, the threshold conditions for the use of the selected FDS fire model needed to be established. This process is called a validation program, conducted based on the utilized simulation method. Subsequently, a general model for determining the stand-off distances from fully fire-opened areas was established. This model was verified by comparing the values of stand-off distances obtained through simulations and values derived from the prescriptive approach, which determines the stand-off distances in Slovakia following generally binding legal regulations and standards. Subsequently, an accurate general model for the solution of stand-off distances was created, which is validated with the technical standards in the Slovak Republic.