Prescriptive or Performance-Based Fire Engineering Approach?

Prescriptive approach means following the simple “deemed-to-satisfy” prescriptive rules, such as those laid down in government regulations for life safety or in insurance company specifications for property protection.

Performance-based fire engineering approach. This book is focused on performance-based fire engineering of structures. This approach is all about specifying performance requirements and then developing solutions based on understanding of the underlying scientific and engineering principles. This contrasts with the prescriptive approach that tends to be based on experiences developed through many years as specific responses to past fire incidents.

It is important to note that, since the prescriptive approach is simple to implement and has generally resulted in achieving the desired level of fire safety, it should be the first choice when specifying a fire safety strategy. Performance-based fire engineering design should be exploited only if its use can be justified because it offers flexibility in design, reduced construction cost and improved safety.

Source:

https://www.crcpress.com/Performance-Based-Fire-Engineering-of-Structures/Wang-Burgess-Wald-Gillie/9780415557337