SummaryThe presence of pressure cylinders under fire conditions significantly increases the risk rate for the intervening persons. It is considerably problematic to predict the pressure cylinders behaviour during heat exposition, its destruction progress and possible following explosion of the produced air–gas mixture because pressure cylinders and its environment generate a highly complicated dynamic system during an uncontrolled destruction. The large scale tests carried out by the Pilsen Fire and Rescue Department and the Rapid Response Unit of the Czech Republic Police in October 2012 and in May 2014 in the Military area Brdy and in the area of the former Lachema factory in Kaznějov had several objectives, namely, to record, qualify and quantify some of the aspects of an uncontrolled heat destruction procedure of an exposed pressure cylinder in an enclosed space and to qualify and describe the process of a controlled destruction of a pressure cylinder by shooting through it including basic tactical concepts. The article describes the experiments that were carried out

Standard protection zones and uniform maintenance along linear infrastructure, especially railways, do not reliably capture spatial variability in a real landscape matrix. A more suitable approach is segment-based corridor evaluation grounded in local hazard and exposure assessment. In a model railway corridor in Central Europe, a screening workflow is developed to combine fuel and vertical structure, terrain-driven spread amplifiers, weather, fuel-moisture conditions, and a provisional infrastructure exposure/sensitivity layer. In addition to these environmental layers, geocoded fire and response records are used to build an event layer for segment profiling and historical plausibility checking. The railway corridor was divided into analytical segments, and an environmental and incident profile was compiled for each segment. The pilot application shows observed concentrations of fire incidents in short-track sections and provides a framework for segment typology based on fuel, topography, moisture, weather, and operational factors. The analysis supports targeted vegetation management, future detection-node planning, and a scalable decision chain for other linear critical infrastructure elements. The proposed workflow should be understood as a corridor-scale screening and prioritization framework, not as a statistically validated hotspot model or a component-specific infrastructure risk score.

This study examines whether a train fire near an evacuation interface in a railway tunnel can create an adverse configuration relevant to evacuation design and collective risk assessment. It focuses on twin single-track tunnels, in which the parallel tunnel serves as a safe area, and evacuation is carried out through cross-passages and boundary portals. If a fire impairs such an interface, evacuees may be forced to continue to a more distant exit. The problem is formulated as a geometric-probabilistic screening task. The model calculates the probability that, after the train has stopped, the fire lies within a tolerance zone around an evacuation interface. The probability is derived analytically using deterministic convolution and verified via Monte Carlo simulation for trains with lengths of 200 m and 400 m. This verification concerns mathematical calculation only, not the physical, smoke, operational, or evacuation assumptions. The geometric probability is linked to collective risk through representative train fire frequencies, external consequence indicators, and selected F/N criteria. With ε = 37 m and portals included as boundary evacuation interfaces of the finite tunnel domain, the adverse-configuration probabilities are similar: approximately 14.0% for the 200 m train and 14.6% for the 400 m train. The difference becomes decisive only after considering the magnitude of the consequences and the traffic intensity. Under the reference assumptions, the 400 m high-occupancy case reaches the selected Dutch criterion at about four train passages per day. A fire near an evacuation interface, therefore, cannot be treated as marginal solely because the tunnel meets the 500 m cross-passage spacing requirement. Acceptability depends on geometry, occupancy, fire frequency, the definition of consequences, traffic intensity, and the selected risk framework. The homogeneous fire-origin distribution is used only as a neutral first-order assumption; more refined spatial fire-origin models and broader comparisons across safety criteria are needed.

This study assessed the effectiveness of stress-based cognitive-behavioral training compared to standard training in firefighters, emphasizing their ability to distribute extinguishing water and cool environments evenly during enclosure fires. Experiments took place at the Zbiroh training facility with two firefighter teams (Team A with stress-based training and Team B with standard training) under realistic conditions. Using 58 thermocouples and 4 radiometers, temperature distribution and radiant heat flux were measured to evaluate water distribution efficiency and cooling performance during interventions. Team A consistently achieved temperature reductions of approximately 320 °C in the upper layers and 250–400 °C in the middle layers, maintaining stable conditions, whereas Team B only achieved partial cooling, with upper-layer temperatures remaining at 750–800 °C. Additionally, Team A recorded lower radiant heat flux densities (e.g., 20.74 kW/m² at 0°) compared to Team B (21.81 kW/m²), indicating more effective water application and adaptability. The findings confirm that stress-based training enhances firefighters’ operational readiness and their ability to distribute water effectively during interventions. This skill is essential for safer and effective management of indoor fires under extreme conditions. This study supports the inclusion of stress-based and scenario-based training in firefighter education to enhance safety and operational performance.