Interactive fire spread simulations with extinguishment support for Virtual Reality training tools

•We provide algorithms for real-time fire spread. The software that applies these algorithms has been used in different training applications.•Algorithms integrate forest and urban environments.•Firebreaks (roads, rivers, etc.) are easily integrated. Fire may cross them (spotting fires).•Real-time extinguishment is supported by the algorithms. They consider the evaporation of the extinguishing agent and the eventual rekindle of the fire.•Tests show that the real time goal is achieved even with 3 km fire fronts.

Virtual Reality training for fire fighters and managers has two main advantages. On one hand, it supports the simulation of complex scenarios like big cities, where a fire cannot be simulated in the real world. On the other hand, fire fighting VR simulators allow trainees to experience situations as similar as possible to real fire, reducing the probability of accidents when they are practising exercises with real fire.The success of the Virtual Reality training tools also depends on how close to reality the simulation process is. This work provides fire spread algorithms for forest and urban environments, which can be used at interactive rates. Due to the interactive nature of the algorithms, the users are able to fight the fire by throwing extinguishing agents.Although the algorithms assume many simplifications of the problem, their behaviour is satisfactory. This is due to the efficient management of the cell states in a 3 m×3 m cell grid. Also the variables that have more influence on fire propagation constitute the core of the algorithms. The overall system deals with user extinguishment actions, natural and artificial firebreaks, variable wind conditions (even at a cell level) and non-contiguous fire propagation (embers and spotting fires). The unified forest/urban model leads to an object oriented architecture which supports the fire propagation algorithms. This also allows the system to compute efficiently mixed forest–urban environments.

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