Factors that affect behavior in fire Flashcards
Three factors that affect behavior
Occupant factors
Building factors
Environmental factors
Name some of the occupant factors that affect behavior in a fire
Age and gender Commitment/investment Focus Training Experience Alone/with others Role Culture Alcohol/drugs Condition over time
Occupant factor - Age and gender: What does it impact?
Cognitive ability
Mobility
Fight/flight vs. tend/befriend (men check fire, women check people stereotypically)
Occupant factor - Commitment/investment: What does it impact?
Commitment or investment in an activity needs to be broken, otherwise they won’t evacuate
Occupant factor - Focus: What does it impact?
Focus on a lecture, a movie in a movie theater, game in a casino needs to be broken. Use where the attention is to break focus (screen and signs)
Occupant factor - Training: What does it impact?
Improved response
Knowledge of exits
Post-evacuation
Occupant factor - Experience: What does it impact?
Lessons learned, they react faster, e.g. bombing of WTC in ‘93 (hours to evacuate) vs 9/11 (much faster)
Occupant factor - Familiarity: What does it impact?
Knowledge of exits and/or emergency plan
False sense of security
Learned irrelevance (“do not use unless emergency”)
Occupant factor - Alone/with others: What does it impact?
People move at the speed of the slowest person
Want to protect familiar people
Occupant factor - Role: What does it impact?
People stay in their role and the same rules apply as before, e.g. leaders will lead, followers will follow
Beverly Hills Supper Club: expectation of assistance
Occupant factor - Culture: What does it impact?
Dress Language Hierarchy Individualistic vs group-oriented Different systems (signs, alarms, doors)
Occupant factor - Alcohol/drugs: What does it impact?
Delayed reaction
Incapacitation
Occupant factor - Condition over time: What does it impact?
Vulnerability to the fire effects, e.g. hospital vs group of young people
What would be some of the building factors that affect occupant behavior in a fire?
Building use and type Dimensions and geometry Complexity Means of egress Conspicuousness of emergency exits Lighting and signage Population density Distribution and activities Warning systems Fire safety systems
Building factor - Building use and type: examples
Residential vs nonresidential (home fire: long time for people to start evacuation)
High-rise vs low-rise
Building factor - Dimensions and geometry, complexity: What does it impact?
Too complex -> longer evacuation
Building factor - Means of egress: Where do people tend to go?
People tend to go to corners of a building or the end of a corridor in case of emergency
Building factor - Conspicuousness of emergency exits: What might affect it?
Many lights around exit sign may make it hard to see
Signs are red in the US (not good)
Building factor - Lighting and signage: What needs to be taken into consideration?
Needs to be clearly visible, even in case of power outage
Needs to stand out from surroundings
Building factor - Population density, distribution, and activities: Examples
Assembly spaces vs bedroom in hotel - lots of people, maybe drinking, vs 1 or 2 people
Casino - engaged, need to break their attention
Nonresidential spaces after-hours - US deaths in office usually after hours when they’re alone
Building factor - Warning systems, fire safety systems: Examples
Bells vs alarms - bells only alert, alarms can tell you what to do
Voice message
Evacuation plans
Floor wardens (NYC) - responsible for telling people to evacuate, at least one on every floor in NYC
What would be some of the environmental factors that affect occupant behavior in a fire?
Weather Fire Smoke spread and density Debris outside Time of day
Name the relevant models and theories for this course
Behavior sequence Role-rule model Theory of affordance Theory of affiliation Risk perception Help in emergencies Social influence Panic
Describe how we want people to respond to an evacuation alarm vs how they’re more likely to respond
- Respond promptly
- Follow instructions provided
- Use egress routes efficiently
- Move directly to a place of safety
vs - Interpret cues/instructions or miss them
- Respond differently
- Search for information/others
- Delay movement
- Use familiar routes
Why is it important to understand human behavior?
- Influence time to reach safety
- Allows “reasonable” performance estimates of time
- Understand discrepancy between design and use
- Informs interpretation of results produced
- Determines effectiveness of procedural measures
- Should be considered when designing structures and emergency plan
If not, may underestimate egress time and overestimate safety level
