During a fire, the major cause of casualties is the toxic gas produced from combustible interior and exterior materials. Increasing the time for occupant evacuation by reducing toxic gas is the most effective way of reducing casualties. Many casualties occurred in recent fires at the Jecheon Sports Center, Miryang Sejong Hospital, and Icheon Distribution Center. The commonality is that the toxic gas produced from combustible interior and exterior materials was the major cause of the casualties.

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... In this study, phenol foam insulation material was considered as an alternative pipe lagging material, owing to its limited combustibility and non-production of toxic gas, to determine a method for removing the toxic gas generated from the combustion of pipe lagging material. Phenol foam insulation material is often used as the insulation material for building exteriors owing to its excellent insulation performance. Moreover, it has the advantage of being an environment-friendly product with zero ozone layer destruction coefficient and low harmful substance emissions. The incombustibility of phenol foam insulation material was verified through the Standard Performance Test of the Limited Combustible Material (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Notice No. 2020-1053). Further, an alternative is to be proposed if a pipe lagging material with inadequate incombustibility is used in the site even though a tested pipe lagging material with limited combustibility is available.