Concept of validation in performance-based fire safety engineering

The concept of validation is an important part of performance-based fire safety engineering. In this context the term validation is often used to describe the accuracy of a model or a calculation used to describe a phenomenon. It is also used to ensure credibility, being applied in statements such as: the model is validated for fires in the open, or, the model is validated for compartment fires. This paper examines the basic concept of validation. It addresses what it means to validate and what the concept of validation implies for performance-based fire safety engineering. The concept of validation has different meanings depending on the discipline and application in which it is used, for instance from an formal, empirical perspective validation may be used to determine the degree to which a model represents the real world, whereas in a functional perspective the concept of validation may be viewed as a way of obtaining credibility and trustworthiness for a model and also to determine the explanatory strength of a model. The field of fire engineering is based on natural science premises, especially in terms of the methods used to calculate the effects of a fire. However, a fire scenario is not only influenced by variables that can be assessed in a strictly physical sense: there are also other elements to consider, such as human and organizational behaviors. The concept of validation adopted in performance-based fire safety engineering should therefore also include wider considerations not directly measurable through experiment. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.