Abstract
All building users should have the right to safe evacuation. However, evacuation becomes a big challenge when it concerns people with disabilities. Nowadays, computer programs are used to plan escape routes. Therefore, the manuscript deals with the issues of modeling evacuation with particular emphasis on people with disabilities. A review of different evacuation modeling software is presented. The research is performed mainly to see what the limitations of different programs are and how they regard occupants with disabilities. The analyses contain a study of six cases of the evacuation from a building. In this study the three following programs—SIMULEX, STEPS and Pathfinder—are considered. Different populations of people with mobility impairments are modeled. The comparison of the methodology when using these three programs is presented in the following sections. Research has shown that despite the same input data, the results obtained with the three programs differ significantly. In the case of the total evacuation time, the differences reach up to 8%.
Highlights
Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 20, 44–100 Gliwice, Poland; Faculty of Transport and Aviation Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Krasińskiego 8, TE and Aleksander Król 2
Since nowadays disabled people naturally participate in the common life, their likely presence in a building makes it necessary to anticipate the evacuation of disabled people from buildings
STEPS predicted the fastest evacuation, Pathfinder the slowest, the results provided by SIMULEX were between them—with results varying more towards either side of the spectrum or staying in the center
Summary
Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 20, 44–100 Gliwice, Poland; Faculty of Transport and Aviation Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Krasińskiego 8, TE and Aleksander Król 2. In the case of the total evacuation time, the differences reach up to 8%. The most crucial aspect of building safety in case of a fire is the possibility of safe escape. It must be provided for all occupants and is included in law regulations. Safe evacuation depends on the conditions of the escape routes. In case of fire in the building, safe evacuation conditions must be provided for each occupant, regardless of their physical and mental characteristics. It is obvious that the evacuation of people with disabilities will last longer This time will depend on the degree of disability. There is a need to include disabled people in commonly used evacuation programs
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