Abstract
A review of literature related to fire evacuation in high-rise buildings was carried out with the following objectives, (1) to identify the key behavioural factors affecting the performance of people during a fire in a high-rise building, the singularities associated to this type of buildings and areas of future research; (2) to review the procedures and strategies currently adopted in high-rise buildings; (3) to review and analyse the capabilities of evacuation models by reviewing their current characteristics and applications in the context of high-rise building evacuations. The review included both findings on human behaviour in high-rise buildings and modelling techniques and tools. Different categories of building use were taken into account, namely office buildings, residential buildings and health care facilities. The individual or combined use of different egress components was analysed. Egress components include the use of stairs, elevators as well as alternative means of escape (e.g., sky-bridges, helicopters, etc.). The effectiveness of the egress components is strongly affected by the building use and the population involved. The review shows that evacuation models can be effectively employed to study relocation strategies and safety issues associated with high-rise buildings. The suitability of egress models for high-rise building evacuations is associated with their flexibility in representing different egress components and complex behavioural processes. The review highlights that there is not a definitive model to be used but that the predictive capabilities of evacuation modelling techniques would be enhanced if more than one model is employed to study different egress aspects. Future research and model developments should focus on the study of the impact of staff actions, group dynamics and people with disabilities. Given the increasing height of buildings and the gradual reduction in the physical abilities of the population, the effects of fatigue on evacuation need further studies.
Highlights
IntroductionAccording to Hall (2011), the main building uses that can be identified to categorise this type of buildings are office buildings, residential buildings (e.g., hotels, apartment buildings) and health care facilities
According to the definition of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 2012), high-rise buildings are defined as “buildings greater than 75 feet in height where the building height is measured from the lowest level of fire department vehicle access to the floor of the highest occupiable story”
This paper presents the findings of a literature review conducted on human behaviour and modelling research for high-rise building evacuations
Summary
According to Hall (2011), the main building uses that can be identified to categorise this type of buildings are office buildings, residential buildings (e.g., hotels, apartment buildings) and health care facilities. Each of these categories presents different characteristics from the point of view of both the infrastructure and the population. Dedicated recommendations have been provided by national and international committees, e.g. the GB50045-95, Code for Fire Protection Design of Tall Buildings in China (GB50045-95 2005), the Fire Safety Requirements for super high-rise residential buildings in Singapore (Singapore Civil defence Force 2006) or chapter 7 of the Fire and Life Safety of National Building Code of India (Bureau of Indian Standards 2005)
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