The Relationship Between Walking Speed and Available Walking Height

Abstract

During fire outbreaks, smoke accumulates from the ceiling and reduces the available walking height of people passing through. In this study, a walking experiment was conducted to investigate the relationship between the walking speed of people and available walking height. Twenty-three participants were enrolled. Based on the results, the lower the available walking height, the lower the average walking speed of the participants. However, a significant difference was noted only in the walking speed when the available walking height was 1.2 m compared to the free walking speed. In addition, there was no significant difference among participants in terms of their BMI index grade. However, in the case of participants with normal BMI, the walking speed at a 1.2 m available walking height was significantly lower than when walking freely. Further, in the case of overweight participants, the walking speed at 1.8 m and 1.7 m available walking height was significantly increased compared to that when walking freely.