ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Built Environ.
Sec. Fire Resistant Engineering
Numerical Simulation and Analysis of Smoke Detector Response to Varying Fire Source Locations in Brick-Timber Heritage Buildings: A Case Study of Kashgar Old City
Provisionally accepted
- 1China Fire and Rescue Institute, Beijing, China
- 2Nanjing Vazyme Biotech Co Ltd, Nanjing, China
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Brick-timber heritage buildings, characterized by masonry walls and extensive use of wood (e.g., poplar, pine) in structural elements, possess high historical and cultural value, yet this material composition makes them susceptible to fire hazards. Smoke detectors are critical devices for early fire warning, and their response characteristics in brick-timber ancient building fires are of paramount importance. This study employs an integrated numerical simulation approach, utilizing the Pyrosim fire simulation software to model different fire scenarios in brick-timber ancient buildings, aiming to investigate the impact of fires on the response characteristics of smoke detectors. The study analyzes the smoke generation rate, temperature, and spread patterns from different ignition points—such as central fires, edge fires, and corner fires—within the complex spaces of ancient buildings, as well as the influence of these factors on the response time and sensitivity of smoke detectors. Simulation experiments indicate that when the fire source is located at the center of a room, the smoke detector triggers at 59.5 s; when the fire source is situated in a corner area of the room, the smoke detector triggers at 22.4 s; and when the fire source is positioned in the central hall area of the room, the smoke alarm triggers at 16 seconds. The findings reveal the variation patterns of smoke detector response characteristics in fire scenarios within brick-timber ancient buildings. This paper provides theoretical foundations and data support for optimizing the selection and layout of smoke detectors in ancient buildings, enhancing the reliability of fire warning systems, and improving the fire prevention and control capabilities of brick-timber ancient structures, thereby better preserving precious historical and cultural heritage.
Keywords: ancient building fire, detector response, Fire prevention and control, Fire spread, numerical simulation
Received: 31 Dec 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Zhao, Liu and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhen Liu
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