Khakzad S., Dadashzadeh M., Khakzad N., 2026, A Method Based on Multi-Attribute Utility Function for Optimal Allocation of Firefighting Resources, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 124, 379-384.
Allocation of firefighting resources in chemical and process plants for suppressing and cooling endangered units falls under the domain of multi-objective decision-making (MODM), where not only the safety and integrity of the affected process plant but also the safety of on-site and off-site vulnerable targets matter. The importance of identifying effective firefighting strategies becomes more crucial when potential domino effects can quickly increase the number of endangered units and targets beyond what could potentially be afforded by firefighters. Combining the domino effect models with MODM techniques has been proposed as a viable solution for effective allocation of firefighting resources. In the present study, an influence diagram – an extension of Bayesian network (BN) – has been applied for both modelling domino effects and identifying multi-objective firefighting strategies. For this purpose, an innovative multi-attribute utility function (MAUF) has been developed to integrate relevant risk objectives – with different units and priorities - into a single objective function.
