Wayfinding of Firefighters in Dark and Complex Environments.

Beckham Shih-Ming Lin,Gary Li-Kai Hsiao,Chung-Chyi Chou,Ching-Yuan Lin,Chun-Wei Kung,Ying-Ji Chuang,Yong-Jun Lin

doi:10.3390/ijerph18158014

Abstract

Firefighters searching in dark and complex environments might lose their orientation and endanger themselves at the fireground. This study conducted experiments in the Training Facility of the New Taipei City Fire Department (NTFD), Taiwan. The objective of the experiments was to analyze the profile of each firefighter by a 13-factor self-report survey and their wayfinding time in dark and complex environments (DCEs). The results showed that age might be a marginally significant factor, and fear of confinement might be a significant factor that could affect firefighters’ wayfinding time in the DCEs. The findings could provide strategies for improving the safety of firefighters working in such environments.

Highlights

The present study conducted experiments in the Dark, Confined, and Complex SearchTraining Facility of the New Taipei City Fire Department (NTFD) in Taiwan
To check the results of the self-report survey and discuss which factor might be sigobtained with t-tests and multiple regressions were performed to check for differences in nificant for the wayfinding of firefighters in the dark and complex environments (DCEs), descriptive statistics were wayfinding times within thetime
The results showed that age might be a marginally significant factor and fear of confinement might be a significant factor, which could affect the wayfinding time of firefighters in DCEs

Summary

Introduction

Training Facility of the New Taipei City Fire Department (NTFD) in Taiwan. The objective was to analyze the profiles of firefighters through a self-report survey and to determine which factors might influence their performance in wayfinding in dark and complex environments (DCEs). The number of fires in Taiwan has been decreasing annually, the death rate of firefighters has shown an increasing trend. On 28 April 2018, a fire at a printed circuit board factory in Taoyuan City resulted in the death of six firefighters [8]. In 2015, a fire incident at the Hsin Wu Bowling Alley in Taoyuan City led to the deaths of six firefighters [9]. Statistics of New Taipei City Fire Department; New Taipei City Fire Department: New Taipei City, Taiwan, 2018.

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion