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Tools and Techniques for Impact Analysis

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Handbook of Fire and the Environment

Part of the book series: The Society of Fire Protection Engineers Series ((SFPES))

Abstract

This chapter presents quantitative tools and techniques for conducting environmental impact analysis from unwanted fire. The methods introduced can be used to assess the ability of different mitigation methods to minimize the impacts of human activities, which result in emissions to the environment (air, water, soil), including risk assessments, benefit-cost assessments (BCA) and life cycle cost assessment (LCCA), life cycle assessments (LCA) and a variety of specialized and hybrid models. This chapter considers the types of impacts and their pathways. Specific tools discussed include: Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES), Building Industry Reporting and Design for Sustainability (BIRDS), BIRDS Neutral Environment Software Tool (BIRDS NEST), SiteWise, Building Life Cycle Cost (BLCC), Economic Decision Guide Software (EDGe$), ENVECO, the Fire-Impact Tool, and Fire-LCA. Examples are provided to demonstrate their use and applicability. Linkages between the methods and traceable standards and published best practices and guides are provided, where applicable. Environmental impacts from wildland fires are also considered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Margaret McNamee

  2. NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, USA

    David Butry & Joshua Kneifel

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  1. Margaret McNamee
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  2. David Butry
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  3. Joshua Kneifel
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Correspondence to Margaret McNamee .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Meacham Associates, Shrewsbury, MA, USA

    Brian J. Meacham

  2. Fire Safety Engineering, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Margaret McNamee

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McNamee, M., Butry, D., Kneifel, J. (2023). Tools and Techniques for Impact Analysis. In: Meacham, B.J., McNamee, M. (eds) Handbook of Fire and the Environment. The Society of Fire Protection Engineers Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94356-1_9

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