Top 10 Best Fire Simulation Software of 2026

Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) is an open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software developed by NIST for simulating fire-driven fluid flows, focusing on smoke transport, heat release, and fire spread in buildings and enclosures. It models complex phenomena like turbulence, combustion, pyrolysis, and suppression using large eddy simulation (LES) techniques. Paired with Smokeview (SMV), it provides powerful 3D visualization of results, making it a cornerstone tool in fire safety engineering and research.

PyroSim is a professional graphical user interface (GUI) for NIST's open-source Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), designed to model fire-driven fluid flow, heat transfer, smoke propagation, and suppression in buildings and enclosures. It simplifies the creation of complex 3D geometries, fire sources, obstructions, vents, HVAC systems, and output controls through an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. PyroSim integrates seamlessly with Smokeview for high-quality 3D visualization of results, making it a comprehensive tool for performance-based fire safety engineering and research.

CFAST, developed by NIST, is a zone-based fire model that simulates fire growth, smoke production, transport, and heat transfer in multi-compartment structures by dividing each room into an upper hot layer and lower cool layer. It predicts key outputs like temperature profiles, smoke concentrations, and visibility, making it suitable for fire safety engineering applications. The software is computationally efficient, allowing rapid simulations compared to full CFD models like FDS.

ANSYS Fluent is a premier computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software renowned for simulating complex fluid flows, heat transfer, multiphase interactions, and combustion processes. For fire simulation, it provides robust capabilities including detailed chemistry combustion models, radiation heat transfer, soot formation, and smoke propagation using RANS or LES turbulence modeling. It integrates seamlessly with other ANSYS tools for multi-physics simulations like fluid-structure interaction in fire scenarios, enabling accurate prediction of fire spread and suppression.

Simcenter STAR-CCM+ is a high-end CFD software from Siemens designed for multiphysics simulations, including advanced fire and combustion modeling. It accurately simulates fire dynamics, flame spread, smoke propagation, thermal radiation, and multiphase interactions in complex geometries like buildings, tunnels, and industrial facilities. The platform integrates combustion chemistry, soot formation, and heat transfer for comprehensive fire safety assessments and design optimization.

OpenFOAM is a free, open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) toolbox renowned for simulating complex fluid flows, heat transfer, and chemical reactions, including fire dynamics via solvers like fireFoam and reactingParcelFoam. It enables detailed modeling of fire spread, smoke propagation, pyrolysis, and turbulent combustion in enclosures or open spaces. Highly extensible, it supports multiphysics coupling and custom boundary conditions, making it suitable for research-grade fire simulations.

Kameleon FireEx (KFX) is a specialized CFD-based software for simulating fire and explosion scenarios, providing detailed predictions of flame shapes, heat fluxes, temperatures, and smoke dispersion in complex industrial environments. Developed by the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), it excels in modeling pool fires, jet fires, and deflagrations for safety assessments. Widely used in oil & gas and petrochemical sectors, it supports risk analysis, equipment design, and regulatory compliance through validated, physics-based simulations.

SMARTFIRE is a research-oriented zone fire simulation software developed by the University of Greenwich, designed to model fire dynamics in multi-compartment buildings. It uses a network approach to predict gas temperatures, smoke layer heights, production rates, and fire spread through vents and openings. As a computationally efficient alternative to CFD tools like FDS, it is primarily suited for academic and validation studies rather than complex real-time engineering applications.

BRANZFire is a specialized fire simulation software developed by BRANZ for performance-based fire engineering design. It employs a multi-zone model to simulate fire growth, heat release, smoke production, and temperatures across multiple compartments and storeys in buildings. Primarily used for assessing fire safety in multi-storey structures, it helps engineers evaluate evacuation times, structural fire resistance, and compliance with building codes.

Autodesk CFD is a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software designed for simulating fluid flow, heat transfer, and related phenomena, with capabilities for fire and smoke modeling including combustion, plume development, and smoke propagation. It excels in analyzing fire safety scenarios within buildings by predicting temperature fields, visibility, and ventilation performance. Seamlessly integrated with Autodesk's BIM tools like Revit, it supports iterative design optimization for fire protection systems.