Evaluation of crowd evacuation in high-rise residential buildings with mixed-ability population: combining an architectural solution with management strategies

Abstract

The increasing growth of high-rise residential buildings in recent years and the existence of hazards such as fires, earthquakes, and terrorist incidents have increased the importance of evacuating buildings to save lives. Meanwhile, statistics show that a significant percentage of the population and hence residents of buildings are permanently disabled. However, the study of the evacuation of a mixed-ability population is more complicated than a homogeneous population. This study examined phased evacuation, emplacement strategy, and ramp installation using a mixed-ability population simulation in a 26-story residential building. The study population includes 2% of people with mobility limitations and 98% without disabilities. Unlike previous studies, the results revealed that phased evacuation could not reduce evacuation time in a mixed-ability population. It was also found that emplacement strategies could shorten the evacuation time by up to 10%, though suffering from an ethical problem. Meanwhile, combining ramp installation with others strategies offered the best and broadest impact on a safe evacuation and could improve evacuation time by up to 30% and reduce congestion on exit routes.