Accurate simulation modeling of the danger zone and real-time visualization of the toxic cloud spread during a fire and explosion at an industrial facility in a nearby urban area are in demand by rescue services conducting evacuation. Using a cellular automaton method allows us to create an optimal predictive model of the danger zone spread, combine modeling accuracy with computational speed, and consider multiple input variables and the cascading nature of an accident during visualization. The objective of this study was to develop a mobile application for calculating the parameters of the danger zone during an accident at an industrial facility caused by a toxic cloud spreading into an urban area, based on the selection of a cellular automaton algorithm. The primary objective of the study was a highly detailed visualization of the danger zone with several predicted values of toxic substance concentrations in the air. The authors developed a cellular automaton-based model, which forms the basis of the mobile application. It takes into account several variables characterizing chemicals in the explosion and fire zone, climate factors, occupancy, building parameters, and the availability of respiratory protection. The FireSoft Mobile app was developed using the Visual Studio 2022 development environment, C# 10.0, and .NET MAUI, adapted for Android 8.0 and higher. The mobile app was tested to visualize a cloud of toxic pollutants forming a hazardous zone in an urban agglomeration for cases involving an ammonia tank explosion and a large fire involving a large amount of polyvinyl chloride. The results demonstrate the app’s feasibility and effectiveness in predicting, planning, and managing evacuation measures during accidents at an industrial facility.
Abu-Abed et al. (Mon,) studied this question.