Abstract: In order to optimize fire safety design of senior apartments and reduce casualties, a fire and evacuation BIM was established, and evacuation was simulated. Then, influence of building layout on fire spread and that of temperature, visibility, CO concentration and smoke layer's height on evacuation behaviors of the elderly were analyzed. The results show that during fire development process, temperature difference is greater at height range between 0.5 m and 1.5 m for 3.3 m-high fire floor, smoke layer stays stable at height around 1.4 m in fire rooms, and forms of corridor have a great impact on fire temperature and propagation. Smoke, high temperature and other factors are unfavorable to evacuation of the elderly on fire floors and above, resulting in their inability to evacuate safely. Casualties can be effectively reduced by improving evacuation efficiency in vertical direction. And by increasing emergency exits and setting ramp type evacuation stairs in terms of building layout of apartments for the elderly, evacuation efficiency can be improved.

Key words: senior apartment, fire, evacuation, building information model (BIM), building layout