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Article
Publication date: 9 December 2020

Akbar Adhiutama, Rony Darmawan, Shimaditya Nuraeni, Noorhan Firdaus Pambudi and Nur Budi Mulyono

The lack of studies about the relevance of disaster awareness factors and disaster evacuation as a part of disaster responses especially for fire cases in an academic environment…

Abstract

Purpose

The lack of studies about the relevance of disaster awareness factors and disaster evacuation as a part of disaster responses especially for fire cases in an academic environment in Indonesia has triggered this study to explore the disaster awareness factors and evacuation experiment without emergency alarm for case study students in the classroom. The relevance of disaster awareness factors in transforming into practical action and decision in a disaster evacuation need to be examined to study the relevance of both phases in disaster.

Design/methodology/approach

This research conducted a quantitative approach by studying questionnaires from 162 respondents collectively divided into five groups to examine the student disaster awareness factors randomly from those groups. The qualitative approach was implemented through the evacuation experiments that were conducted twice to analyze the disaster evacuation performance. The analysis for the relevance is conducted by comparing the result of the questionnaire study and the evacuation experiment.

Findings

According to the questionnaire study, generally, the students are highly confident with their hazard knowledge in disaster awareness except that half of them are doubtful about appropriate steps in a disaster. The experiment without explosive sound showed that they have slower responses in the critical moment of evacuation. The response in the experiments showed relevance with several disaster awareness factors

Research limitations/implications

This study has explored the relevance of disaster awareness factors with disaster response in a campus building. In the part of reducing risk during fire disaster, this research shows the importance of social interaction and hazard knowledge during the disaster.

Practical implications

The improvement of disaster evacuation procedures and training in a campus building is mandatory to reduce disaster risk based on the relevance of disaster awareness factors and disaster response in this study.

Originality/value

This study measures the relevance of disaster awareness factors performance of the students by comparing it to their actions and decisions in an experimental setting of fire building. The disaster awareness factor performance was measured by a questionnaire survey while the experiments were deployed to observe the performance of their actions and decisions during evacuation as part of the disaster response phase.

Details

International Journal of Emergency Services, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2047-0894

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 July 2014

Kenneth David Strang

The literature was reviewed to locate the most relevant social-psychology theories, factors, and instruments in order to measure New York State resident attitudes and social norms…

Abstract

Purpose

The literature was reviewed to locate the most relevant social-psychology theories, factors, and instruments in order to measure New York State resident attitudes and social norms (SNs) concerning their intent to evacuate Hurricane Irene in the summer of 2011. The purpose of this paper is to develop a model which could be generalized to improve social policy determination for natural disaster preparation.

Design/methodology/approach

A post-positivist ideology was employed, quantitative data were collected from an online survey (nominal, binary, interval, and ratio), and inferential statistical techniques were applied to test theory-deductive hypotheses (Strang, 2013b). Since the questions for each hypothesized factor were customized using a pilot for this study, exploratory factor analysis were conducted to ensure the item validity and reliabilities were compared to a priori benchmarks (Gill et al., 2010). Correlation analysis along with logistic and multiple regression were applied to test the hypothesis at the 95 percent confidence level.

Findings

A statistically significant model was developed using correlation, stepwise regression, ordinary least squares regression, and logistic regression. Only two composite factors were needed to capture 55.4 percent of the variance for behavioral intent (BI) to evacuate. The model predicted 43.9 percent of the evacuation decisions, with 13.3 percent undecided, leaving 42.8 incorrectly classified), using logistic regression (n=401 surveyed participants).

Research limitations/implications

Municipal planners can use this information by creating surveys and collecting BI indicators from citizens, during risk planning, in advance of a natural disaster. The concepts could also apply to man-made disasters. Planners can use the results from these surveys to predict the overall likelihood that residents with home equity (e.g. home owners) intend to leave when given a public evacuation order.

Practical implications

Once municipal planners know the indicators for personal attitudes (PAs) (in particular) and SNs, they could sort these by region, to identify areas where the PAs were too low. Then additional evacuation preparation efforts can be focussed on those regions. According to these findings, the emphasis must be focussed on a PA basis, describing the extreme negative impacts of previous disasters, rather than using credible spokespersons, to persuade individuals to leave.

Originality/value

A new model was created with a “near miss disaster” severity factor as an extension to the theory of reasoned action.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 34 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 January 2024

Jingqi Zhang, Shaohua Jiang and Xiaomin Qi

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive study on building, fire and evacuation, so as to effectively improve the efficiency of building fire evacuation and the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive study on building, fire and evacuation, so as to effectively improve the efficiency of building fire evacuation and the management level of fire evacuation site. Make up for the difficulties of BIM technology in effectively connecting building information and fire data.

Design/methodology/approach

First, this paper establishes a fire model and an evacuation model based on BIM information. Then, the safety index (SI) is introduced as a comprehensive index, and the IRI is established by integrating the SI function to evaluate the safety of evacuation routes. Based on these two indices, the IRI-based fire evacuation model is established.

Findings

This study offers an Improved Risk Index (IRI)-based fire evacuation model, which may achieve effective evacuation in fire scenes. And the model is verified by taking the fire evacuation of a shopping center building as an example.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a fire evacuation principle based on IRI, so that the relevant personnel can comprehensively consider the fire factors and evacuation factors to achieve the optimization of building design, thereby improving the fire safety of buildings.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 6 October 2021

Nobuhito Ohtsu, Akihiko Hokugo, Ana Maria Cruz, Yukari Sato, Yuko Araki and Hyejeong Park

This study investigated pre-evacuation times and evacuation behaviors of vulnerable people during the 2018 flooding in Shimobara, Okayama, Japan, and the flood-triggered factory…

1521

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigated pre-evacuation times and evacuation behaviors of vulnerable people during the 2018 flooding in Shimobara, Okayama, Japan, and the flood-triggered factory explosion, a natural hazard-triggered technological accident known as a natural-hazard-triggered technological accidents (Natech). This study examined factors that affected evacuation decisions and pre-evacuation time, estimated the evacuation time in case of no explosion and identified community disaster prevention organization response efforts for vulnerable people.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews with all 18 vulnerable people who experienced the event were conducted. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the effect of six factors on evacuation time and reasons for delayed evacuation.

Findings

Factors affecting evacuation decisions included the sound of the explosion, followed by recommendations from relatives and the community disaster prevention organization. Explosion-related injuries delayed early evacuation, but experience of previous disasters and damage had a positive effect on early evacuation. The explosion sound accelerated evacuation of non-injured people; however, explosion-related injuries significantly delayed evacuation of injured individuals. The Shimobara community disaster prevention organization’s disaster response included a vulnerable people registry, visits to all local households and a multilayered approach that enabled monitoring of all households.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine the evacuation behavior of vulnerable people and community responses during a Natech event.

Details

International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-5908

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 July 2023

Ying Lu, Yunxuan Deng and Shuqi Sun

Metro stations have become a crucial aspect of urban rail transportation, integrating facilities, equipment and pedestrians. Impractical physical layout designs and pedestrian…

Abstract

Purpose

Metro stations have become a crucial aspect of urban rail transportation, integrating facilities, equipment and pedestrians. Impractical physical layout designs and pedestrian psychology impact the effectiveness of an evacuation during a metro fire. Prior research on emergency evacuation has overlooked the complexity of metro stations and failed to adequately consider the physical heterogeneity of stations and pedestrian psychology. Therefore, this study aims to develop a comprehensive evacuation optimization strategy for metro stations by applying the concept of design for safety (DFS) to an emergency evacuation. This approach offers novel insights into the management of complex systems in metro stations during emergencies.

Design/methodology/approach

Physical and social factors affecting evacuations are identified. Moreover, the social force model (SFM) is modified by combining the fire dynamics model (FDM) and considering pedestrians' impatience and panic psychology. Based on the Nanjing South Metro Station, a multiagent-based simulation (MABS) model is developed. Finally, based on DFS, optimization strategies for metro stations are suggested.

Findings

The most effective evacuation occurs when the width of the stairs is 3 meters and the transfer corridor is 14 meters. Additionally, a luggage disposal area should be set up. The exit strategy of the fewest evacuees is better than the nearest-exit strategy, and the staff in the metro station should guide pedestrians correctly.

Originality/value

Previous studies rarely consider metro stations as sociotechnical systems or apply DFS to proactively reduce evacuation risks. This study provides a new perspective on the evacuation framework of metro stations, which can guide the designers and managers of metro stations.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 January 2020

Jian-Ping Wang, Mei-Ru Wang, Jian-Lan Zhou, Qing-Jun Zuo and Xun-Xian Shi

The purpose of this study is to develop optimal evacuation plan to provide valuable theoretical and practical insight in the fire evacuation work of similar structures, by…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to develop optimal evacuation plan to provide valuable theoretical and practical insight in the fire evacuation work of similar structures, by proposing a systematic simulation-based guided-evacuation agent-based model (GAM) and a three-stage mathematical evacuation model to investigate how to simulate, assess and improve the performance efficiency of the evacuation plan.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors first present the self-evacuation and guided-evacuation models to determine the optimal evacuation plan in ship chamber. Three key performance indicators are put forward to quantitatively assess the evacuation performance within the two fire scenarios. The evacuation model in tower is built to obtain the dividing points of the three different fire evacuation plans.

Findings

The study shows that the optimal evacuation plan determined by the GAM considering social relationships effectively relieves the congestion or collision of evacuees and improves the evacuation uniformity. The optimal evacuation plan not only solves the crush caused by congestion or collision of evacuees but also can greatly shorten the evacuation time for passenger ship fire.

Originality/value

This study establishes the GAM considering the interactive evacuee characteristics and the proportion of evacuees guided by the crew members to make the optimal evacuation plan more time-efficient. The self-evacuation process is simulated to assess the performance of the guided-evacuation strategies, which are used to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the optimal evacuation plan in this research.

Article
Publication date: 9 August 2023

Olabode Emmanuel Ogunmakinde, Temitope Egbelakin and Robert Henderson

This project aims to improve understanding of disaster preparedness and resilience, as well as animal recovery during a disaster event. The purpose of this study is to determine…

Abstract

Purpose

This project aims to improve understanding of disaster preparedness and resilience, as well as animal recovery during a disaster event. The purpose of this study is to determine the type and extent of repair/renovation work required to bring proposed animal safe places and their different components up to the minimum standard for an operational animal evacuation site.

Design/methodology/approach

On-site survey using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire was used to collect data through a five stage processes beginning with the creation of a facility register and continuing with the development of assessment guidelines, assessment planning, actual assessment and reporting. In the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, 25 potential animal evacuation sites, including saleyards, showgrounds, animal shelters and racecourses, were identified and accessed.

Findings

The findings of the study reveals that none of the facilities are of high standard. However, 16% would require cosmetic work, 76% would require minor work and the remaining facilities would require significant work. According to the characteristics of the facilities assessed, saleyards have a greater capacity to accommodate animals ranging in size from large to small. More than half of the facilities have average to excellent hay sheds and wash bays, whereas less than half have dedicated animal quarantine space.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study should assist government agencies, local councils, emergency management teams and other stakeholders in planning for and considering renovation/upgrade of potential animal safe places.

Originality/value

The assessment guideline developed as part of this research can be included in the local council’s emergency management plan to improve adequate planning for safe animal evacuation.

Details

International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. 14 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-5908

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 June 2023

Abdullah Ehtesham Akbar and Mohammad A. Hassanain

This paper aims to present a systematic review of the published literature on building information model (BIM)-based simulation tools used for occupant evacuation over the past…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a systematic review of the published literature on building information model (BIM)-based simulation tools used for occupant evacuation over the past 23 years.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review was conducted on BIM-based simulation tools used for occupant evacuation over the past 23 years. The search identified a total of 37 relevant papers, which were reviewed. The paper describes the use of BIM-based simulation tools over the years and identifies the research gaps.

Findings

BIM-based simulation tools have undergone progressive development, with constant improvements through the integration of advanced tools and collection of more data. These tools can assist in identifying faults in the building design. The outcomes of the simulation were not entirely accurate, as real-life scenarios vary depending on the various building types and the behavior of their occupants.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to the literature through reviewing the capabilities of BIM-based simulation tools and the different simulation methods along with their limitations.

Practical implications

Fire safety engineers and architects can comprehend the utilization of BIM-based simulation tools to enhance the fire evacuation in light of their shortcomings and flaws.

Originality/value

BIM-based simulation tools are becoming more advanced and widely used. There has not been a comprehensive evaluation of the capabilities of the integration of BIM tools and simulation modeling for occupant evacuation. This study guides researchers on the capabilities and efficiencies of integrated solutions for occupant evacuations and their inherent shortcomings. The study identifies future research areas in BIM-based tools for occupant evacuation.

Details

Facilities , vol. 41 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 April 2023

Azin Fathianpour, Mostafa Babaeian Jelodar, Suzanne Wilkinson and Barry Evans

As evacuation is one of the most used response actions to such disasters, it is essential to understand correctly what a resilient evacuation would mean. One critical factor in…

Abstract

Purpose

As evacuation is one of the most used response actions to such disasters, it is essential to understand correctly what a resilient evacuation would mean. One critical factor in evacuation resilience is the resilience level of evacuation infrastructures. Also, UN sustainable development has a goal to build resilient infrastructures. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of resilient evacuation infrastructures.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic methodology for reviewing articles has been implemented to understand how vulnerable cities can be more prepared, especially for pedestrian evacuation.

Findings

This study has developed an evacuation scoring system framework for pedestrians to investigate evacuation infrastructure in terms of different resilience features, such as redundancy, safe-to-fail, readiness and capacity. The most practical evacuation system will be estimated. The output of this study can provide insight into a final output to provide the features of a successful pedestrian evacuation system for future policy drafting for infrastructure strategy decision-makers.

Practical implications

Climate change has made the risks of natural hazards such as tsunamis more intense for humans. Many people in the world live in hazardous environments and are susceptible to disasters. A community must be prepared to mitigate the destructive event and quickly respond to be called resilient.

Originality/value

This is an original work. The researcher has gone through a deep literature review and developed a cluster showing the features a resilient evacuation infrastructure should have.

Details

International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. 14 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-5908

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2017

Abubakar S. Mahmoud, Muizz O. Sanni-Anibire and Mohammad A. Hassanain

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a theoretical calculation for the emergency evacuation of an auditorium facility managed by a university in Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a theoretical calculation for the emergency evacuation of an auditorium facility managed by a university in Saudi Arabia.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors reviewed the published literature to identify the sources of fire incidence, guidelines for means of escape in assembly occupancies and human behavior in fire emergencies. The theoretical method of the SFPE handbook to estimate the required evacuation time was subsequently applied to a case study of an auditorium facility managed by a university located in Saudi Arabia. Finally, the authors developed recommendations for the performance-based fire safety evacuation of the auditorium facility under review.

Findings

The study showed that a total of 6 minutes 39 seconds is needed to evacuate the whole auditorium. However, reviewed literature for assembly occupancies requires between 4 minutes 30 seconds and 6 minutes 24 seconds for total evacuation. Though, the calculated evacuation time is close to generally acceptable limits. It was noted that overcrowding and bottlenecks may be formed in some of the exit routes.

Originality/value

This paper will stimulate and increase research and industry concern for performance-based design of assembly-type facilities. This will be of significant value to designers, engineers, facilities managers, and owners in ensuring the safety of occupants in assembly-type facilities.

Details

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, vol. 35 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4708

Keywords

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