Emergency Evacuation Research Articles

Revolutionizing indoor emergency evacuation prediction with machine learning: A Hand‐searching technique and content analysis on Random Forest algorithm

AbstractMachine learning and emergency evacuation prediction share a meaningful association in the context of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 era, given that machine learning can potentially enhance emergency evacuation prediction processes. Machine learning has the potential to revolutionise emergency evacuation prediction by providing a data‐driven approach that aids decision‐making and response time in emergencies. The complexity of emergency situations can lead to tragic accidents, as individual behaviour heavily influences evacuation time. While some researchers have explored emergency evacuation, existing computer evacuation models lack detailed analysis. To address this gap, this study focuses on reviewing the Random Forest algorithm, an advanced machine learning algorithm based on Decision Trees, in the application of forecasting emergency evacuation time. Through a qualitative research approach using the innovative Hand‐searching technique, we conducted a systematic review employing Content Analysis Theory. Multiple sources were examined, including Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia e‐Journal System. The study's findings shed light on the performance, prediction factors, advantages, and limitations of Random Forest in identifying impacts during an emergency evacuation. These insights hold significant implications for emergency responders, building designers, and policymakers.

Investigation and simulation of non-adaptive psychology of crowd evacuation under toxic gas leakage accident in chemical park

Chemical parks promote economic development, but accidents have caused casualties. Non-adaptive crowd psychology during evacuations can lead to panic, which can result in irrational behavior. Exploring ways to control panic and improve evacuation efficiency is crucial. In this paper, we conduct a questionnaire survey to grasp the psychological rules of evacuating people in the context of toxic gas leakage accidents in chemical parks, and define the weight of panic influence factor accordingly. Combined with a specific chemical park scenario, ALOHA software was used to simulate and analyze the consequences of toxic gas (liquid ammonia as an example) leakage, and the evacuation available time was obtained as 720s. The simulation experiments of personnel evacuation in the accident context were conducted by using Anylogic software based on the social force model, and the required evacuation time was 663.9s, 706.3s, 725.4s and 744.5s respectively under different panic influence factors. Drawing on the idea of building fire performance assessment, the safety criteria for evacuation under toxic gas leakage considering evacuation panic is proposed, namely RSET < ASET, to determine the safety status of personnel evacuation under different panic impact factors, which is hoped to provide some effective guidance for emergency evacuation in chemical parks.

Analysis of the Impact of Small Group Behavior on Cruise Ship Emergency Evacuation

The effectiveness of a cruise ship’s emergency evacuation is greatly influenced by the way people interact; this paper uses the social force model to simulate two different evacuation scenarios considering the impact of small groups. It uses an agent to simulate the behavior of a single occupant, and leverages the social force model to quantify the effect of group behavior on the group members. According to the influence of the group on the members, this paper corrects the expected speed of the members to determine the speed of crowd evacuation. It uses the SAFEGUARD cruise ship as the evacuation platform to simulate the process of evacuating the passengers to the boarding station and assembly station, respectively, and calculates the evacuation time, congestion area, and congestion duration of passengers under the action of groups. The simulation results of the two scenarios show that the group effect increases the average evacuation time by 15.29% and 21.79%, and increases the average detour distance by 24.54% and 17.89%, respectively.

Research and Application of Calibration Device for Fire Emergency Lighting Detector

In order to solve the problem of quantitative traceability of detection devices for fire emergency lighting and evacuation indication systems. Method analysis and research were conducted on parameters such as emergency switching time, emergency working time, DC charging voltage, DC discharge voltage, DC charging current, DC discharge current, environmental test temperature, and environmental test humidity. We searched for appropriate calibration methods for the technical characteristics of each parameter and designed a set of calibration devices for fire emergency lighting detectors. The test results show that the technical indicators of the calibration device can meet the traceability requirements of the fire emergency lighting and evacuation indication system.

Emergency evacuation behavior characteristics classification of aircraft cabin passengers based on deep learning network model SMCNN-LSTM

Emergency evacuation behavior characteristics classification of aircraft cabin passengers based on deep learning network model SMCNN-LSTM

Dynamic Dose-Based Emergency Evacuation Model for Enhancing Nuclear Power Plant Emergency Response Strategies

The safe evacuation of residents near a nuclear power plant during a nuclear accident is vital for emergency response planning. To tackle this challenge, considering the dynamic dispersion of radioactive materials in the atmosphere and its impact on evacuation routes under different meteorological conditions is crucial. This paper develops a dynamic dose-based emergency evacuation model (DDEEM), which is an efficient and optimized nuclear accident evacuation model based on dynamic radiological dose calculation, utilizing an improved A* algorithm to determine optimal evacuation routes. The DDEEM takes into account the influence of radiological plume dispersion and path selection on evacuation effectiveness. This study employs the DDEEM to assess radiological consequences and evacuation strategies for students residing 5 km from a Chinese nuclear power plant. Under various meteorological conditions, including the three typical meteorological conditions, random ordered and random unordered meteorological sequences, optimal routes obtained through the DDEEM effectively reduce radiological dose exposure and mitigate radiation hazards. The results indicate that all evacuation paths generated by the DDEEM have a maximum dose of less than 1 mSv. Through simulations, the model’s effectiveness and reliability in dynamic radiological environments in terms of radiological consequences and evacuation analysis is verified. The research provides valuable insights and a practical tool for nuclear power plant emergency decision-making, enhancing emergency management capabilities during nuclear accidents. The DDEEM offers crucial technical support and a solid foundation for developing effective emergency response strategies.

Initial experience with minimally invasive endoscopic evacuation of intracerebral hemorrhage in the setting of radiographic herniation

BackgroundSpontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) can rapidly result in cerebral herniation, leading to poor neurologic outcomes or mortality. To date, neither decompressive hemicraniectomy (DH) nor hematoma evacuation have been conclusively shown to improve outcomes for comatose ICH patients presenting with cerebral herniation, with these patients largely excluded from clinical trials. Here we present the outcomes of a series of patients presenting with ICH and radiographic herniation who underwent emergent minimally invasive (MIS) ICH evacuation. MethodsWe reviewed our prospectively collected registry of patients undergoing MIS ICH evacuation at a single institution from 01/01/2017 to 10/01/2021. We selected all consecutive patients with Glasgow coma scale (GCS) ≤ 8 and radiographic herniation for this case series. Clinical and radiographic variables were collected, including admission GCS score, preoperative and postoperative hematoma volumes, National Institute of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) scores, and modified Rankin scale (mRS) scores at last follow-up. ResultsOf 176 patients with spontaneous supratentorial ICH who underwent minimally invasive endoscopic evacuation during the study time period, a total of 9 patients presented with GCS ≤ 8 and evidence of radiographic herniation. Among these patients, the mean age was 62 ± 12 years, the median GCS at presentation was 5 [IQR 4-6], the mean preoperative hematoma volume was 94 ± 44 mL, the mean time from ictus to evacuation was 12 ± 5 h, and the mean postoperative hematoma volume was 11 ± 16 mL, for a median evacuation percentage of 97% [83-99]. Three patients (33%) died, four (44%) survived with mRS 5 and two (22%) with mRS 4. Patients had a median NIHSS improvement of 5 compared to their initial NIHSS. Age was very strongly correlate to improvements in NIHSS (r2 = 0.90). ConclusionData from this initial experience suggest emergent MIS hematoma evacuation in the setting of ICH with radiographic herniation is feasible and technically effective. Further randomized studies are required to determine if such an intervention offers overall benefits to patients and their families.

Studying the Synergetic Effect of Point-Extraction and Longitudinal Ventilation on the Maximum Smoke Temperature and Back-Layering Length in Tunnel Fires

This study investigates the impact of combining longitudinal and point-extraction ventilated systems on temperature distribution and back-layering length in tunnel fires. Numerical simulations are conducted using a fire dynamic simulator (FDS), and reduced-scale tunnel fire experiments with a scale of 1/10 are introduced to provide supplementary data. Results indicate that the longitudinal velocity is more critical than other factors in reducing the highest temperature and casualties. Lowering the temperature below the tunnel ceiling is not caused by increasing the ceiling extraction velocity. Additionally, the study reveals that the fire source-ceiling distance and their relative positions play a crucial role in temperature distribution and plug-holing phenomenon in the tunnel. By using the Taguchi method, it is determined that a fire at a height of 0.125 m has a maximum ceiling temperature of 1.8, 1.3, and 1.1 times when the fire source happens on the floor with longitudinal velocities of 0.133, 0.265, and 0.53 m/s, respectively. The extraction point has diverse effects provided that the longitudinal ventilation velocity is set by critical velocity. The study’s objective is to provide tunnel engineering managers with a correlation to predict the highest temperature, which is a vital parameter for emergency evacuation. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of considering longitudinal and point-extraction ventilated systems and their relative speeds in reducing the severity of tunnel fires.

Enhancement of disaster preparedness: Approaches of place attachment and behavior to “build back better” mosque as tsunami evacuation building in Banda Aceh City, Indonesia

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 emphasizes the importance of learning from experiences to strengthen preparedness and “Build Back Better” through risk reduction in the phases of recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. On December 26, 2004, Aceh Province in Indonesia was affected by an earthquake and tsunami that caused infrastructure damage and resulted in the death of 160,000–200,000 people. Mc. Caughey simulation (2017) showed that 50% of respondents in Banda Aceh, preferred mosques as tsunami evacuation sites in the future. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the function of mosques as tsunami evacuation buildings through a community-based approach. The method involved participatory observation and in-depth interviews, guided by the principles of Sense of Place Attachment and Behavior Theory. The results showed that the Baitul Musyahadah Mosque satisfied the criteria for serving as a tsunami evacuation facility. A significant proportion of the community (38%) selected mosques as their preferred evacuation sites, considering factors such as ease of horizontal access (22%), ease of vertical access (22%), the call to prayer (12%), and the available space (4%). The analysis of sociodemographic factors indicated that individuals aged 20–30 expressed attachment towards the physical aesthetics of the mosques, while those aged 31–50 exhibited attachment towards the symbolic significance. This study recommended integrating the design concept of mosques to accommodate worship activities and emergency evacuation, thereby contributing to national and international endeavors aimed at mitigating tsunami risks.

Evaluation of animal safe places for emergency evacuation in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia

PurposeThis project aims to improve understanding of disaster preparedness and resilience, as well as animal recovery during a disaster event. The purpose of this study is to determine the type and extent of repair/renovation work required to bring proposed animal safe places and their different components up to the minimum standard for an operational animal evacuation site.Design/methodology/approachOn-site survey using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire was used to collect data through a five stage processes beginning with the creation of a facility register and continuing with the development of assessment guidelines, assessment planning, actual assessment and reporting. In the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, 25 potential animal evacuation sites, including saleyards, showgrounds, animal shelters and racecourses, were identified and accessed.FindingsThe findings of the study reveals that none of the facilities are of high standard. However, 16% would require cosmetic work, 76% would require minor work and the remaining facilities would require significant work. According to the characteristics of the facilities assessed, saleyards have a greater capacity to accommodate animals ranging in size from large to small. More than half of the facilities have average to excellent hay sheds and wash bays, whereas less than half have dedicated animal quarantine space.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this study should assist government agencies, local councils, emergency management teams and other stakeholders in planning for and considering renovation/upgrade of potential animal safe places.Originality/valueThe assessment guideline developed as part of this research can be included in the local council’s emergency management plan to improve adequate planning for safe animal evacuation.

Design and evaluation of radiation disaster prevention map based on evacuation behavior

An effective disaster prevention map ensures public safety and efficient evacuation during emergencies. Emergency evacuation information design in Taiwan is in its nascent stages. This study focuses on individuals' understanding, behavior, and decision-making during disaster prevention to devise suitable disaster prevention map norms. We examined the Emergency Planning Zone's existing disaster prevention methods and surveyed the community to understand their disaster prevention concepts and needs. We conducted two experiments: the first tested the comprehension of existing disaster prevention maps and identified their issues, while the second evaluated a redesigned map based on Experiment 1's findings. We discovered that all age groups agree on needing accurate, fast information and diverse evacuation route options. Experiment 1 revealed disproportionate assembly point icons on the existing map, leading to navigation difficulties. The map also failed to mark landmarks, road names, and blocked intersections accurately. The redesigned map in Experiment 2 addressed these issues, showing that improving map information design aids recognition and memory, and bridges wayfinding behavior gaps in people with different spatial abilities. We suggest marking evacuation routes on maps, placing corresponding signs on-site, and locating assembly points near landmarks for easier navigation.

Design for safety in metro station evacuation: a study of fire emergency evacuation behavior and simulation

PurposeMetro stations have become a crucial aspect of urban rail transportation, integrating facilities, equipment and pedestrians. Impractical physical layout designs and pedestrian psychology impact the effectiveness of an evacuation during a metro fire. Prior research on emergency evacuation has overlooked the complexity of metro stations and failed to adequately consider the physical heterogeneity of stations and pedestrian psychology. Therefore, this study aims to develop a comprehensive evacuation optimization strategy for metro stations by applying the concept of design for safety (DFS) to an emergency evacuation. This approach offers novel insights into the management of complex systems in metro stations during emergencies.Design/methodology/approachPhysical and social factors affecting evacuations are identified. Moreover, the social force model (SFM) is modified by combining the fire dynamics model (FDM) and considering pedestrians' impatience and panic psychology. Based on the Nanjing South Metro Station, a multiagent-based simulation (MABS) model is developed. Finally, based on DFS, optimization strategies for metro stations are suggested.FindingsThe most effective evacuation occurs when the width of the stairs is 3 meters and the transfer corridor is 14 meters. Additionally, a luggage disposal area should be set up. The exit strategy of the fewest evacuees is better than the nearest-exit strategy, and the staff in the metro station should guide pedestrians correctly.Originality/valuePrevious studies rarely consider metro stations as sociotechnical systems or apply DFS to proactively reduce evacuation risks. This study provides a new perspective on the evacuation framework of metro stations, which can guide the designers and managers of metro stations.

An Unusual Laryngeal Foreign Body in Adult: Denture

Background: Foreign bodies in the larynx are reported quite rarely, with a prevalence of around 4% among patients, especially geriatrics, and represent an acute airway emergency with significant morbidity and mortality rate. Objective: This case report aimed to provide information on managing the extraction of foreign bodies and the accompanying problems. Discussion: A 49-year-old man with a history of wearing dentures was admitted to the emergency room. The patient complained of a hoarse voice upon waking up, painful swallowing, and a lumpy sensation in his throat, but he had no chest pain, cough, nausea, or vomiting. An indirect laryngoscopy examination revealed a foreign body lodged in the anterior rima glottis, impeding the mobility of the vocal folds. Under general anesthesia, emergency direct laryngoscopy, evacuation, and tracheoscopy were performed. It was observed that a foreign denture body was lodged in the larynx and was evacuated using grasping forceps. Post-evacuation, the vocal folds were swollen, with a false vocal fold hematoma, posterior subglottic laceration, and no active bleeding. Conclusion: Foreign bodies in the larynx must be prompted and gently removed because it leads to life-threatening. In suspected swallowed foreign bodies, plain radiographs are the initial imaging approach. Inhalational or intravenous induction is operated to administer the general anesthetic, along with the maintenance of spontaneous ventilation.

Congestion aware reward based scheme based on delay tolerant networks for emergency evacuation in 6G‐based internet of things networks

AbstractInternet of Things (IoT) networks are based on advanced augmented reality‐based applications for better services. These advanced networks are always at threat due to different disasters in an urban congested environment. Delay tolerant networks is one of the well‐known solutions with various features. However, due to heavy data traffic, it suffered from congestion and selfish behavior issues. The existing solutions endeavored to mitigate selfishness and enforce nodes to cooperate which leads to congestion. The information concerning other nodes in the network is needed and to be maintained, stored, and shared. In this article, the issue of the occurrence of congestion while mitigating the selfish behavior of nodes is taken into account, especially for augmented reality (AR) and 6 G‐based IoT networks. This article proposes a credit‐based congestion aware reward‐based scheme for enforcing nodes to cooperate to refrain from selfishness. The load‐sharing technique handles the congestion in 6G/AR‐based IoT networks where the messages are shifted to low or non‐congested nodes rather than dropping them. Simulation results affirm the efficacy of the proposed scheme in terms of data delivery ratio, network overhead, energy consumption, and latency and outperform compare to the state‐of‐the‐art schemes.

Evaluation of emergency evacuation capacity of urban metro stations based on combined weights and TOPSIS-GRA method in intuitive fuzzy environment

Research on emergency evacuations of urban metro stations has become a hot topic in public security applications in recent years. This paper proposes a comprehensive framework for evaluating the emergency evacuation capacity of metro stations. An evaluation indicator system with 16 indicators of human, equipment, environmental, and management factors is established. A triangular intuitionistic fuzzy number (TIFN) approach is used to collect indicator data to express the uncertainty of the language variables and ensure that the data is closer to reality. Subsequently, a combination of the TIFN and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (TIFN-DEMATEL) and the entropy weight method (EWM) are used to combine the weights using game theory to ensure the weights is more scientific and reasonable. Grey relational analysis (GRA) is integrated with the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) to improve the ranking results and evaluate metro station emergency evacuation capacity. A case study of eight metro stations in Beijing is conducted to validate the evaluation framework. Sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis demonstrate the reliability and robustness of the proposed method. Finally, the specific measures to improve the emergency evacuation capacity are given.

Route Planning for Emergency Evacuation Using Graph Traversal Algorithms

The automatic identification of various design elements in a floor-plan image has gained increasing attention in recent research. Emergency-evacuation applications can benefit greatly from automated floor-plan solutions, as they allow for the development of horizontal solutions instead of vertical solutions targeting a specific audience. In addition to that, current evacuation plans rely on static signs without taking into account the dynamic characteristics of each emergency case. This work aims to extract information from a floor-plan image and transform it into a graph that is used for pathfinding in an emergency evacuation. First, the basic elements of the floor-plan image, i.e., walls, rooms and doors, are identified. This is achieved using Panoptic-DeepLab, which is a state-of-the-art deep neural network for the panoptic segmentation of images, and it is available from DeepLab2, an image segmentation library. The neural network was trained using CubiCasa5K, a large-scale floor-plan image dataset containing 5000 samples, annotated into over 80 floor-plan object categories. Then, using the prediction of each pixel, a graph that shows how rooms and doors are connected is created. An application that presents this information in a user-friendly manner and provides graph editing capabilities was developed. Finally, the exits are set, and the optimal path for evacuation is calculated from each node using Dijkstra’s algorithm.

ON A FIRE DETECTION ON STAIRCASE IN MULTI-STOREY BUILDINGS

Staircases are very important from the point of view of fire protection. There are several reasons for this standpoint, but two are particularly significant. The first is that stairs are an important means of evacuation in multi-storey buildings, and the second is that the moment of detection of fire is crucial for the beginning of the evacuation. The first fact refers to the stair’s location in buildings and the dimensions of stairs and landings. The importance of the second fact is obvious – the location and numbers of fire detectors directly affect early fire detection, and consequently the beginning of evacuation. The worst-case fire scenario from the aspect of building design - a staircase in the center of the building - was chosen for the simulation described in the paper, because in Serbia, there are many structures like this For the simulation described in the paper, the worst-case fire scenario was selected from the aspect of building design - a staircase in the centre of the building, because there are many, such in our country. On the other hand, recommendations for the location and number of fire detectors on a staircase are different in world-leading standards. For these reasons, in this paper, the simulations were performed in an eight-story building for various dimensions of spaces between stairs. On the basis of a comparison of the regulations outlined in European, British, German, American, and Russian standards, simulation parameters are defined. Parameters for simulations are defined on the basis of a comparative analysis of rules stated in European, British, German, American and Russian standards. Taking into account that some emergency evacuations entail moving through smoke-filled areas, building engineers must understand how the aforementioned factors affect smoke development in the event of a fire, and thus effective evacuation.

Planning urban underground space from urban emergency evacuation: A digital layout planning method

In recent years, the vulnerability of cities has heightened the threat of disasters, thereby endangering the safety of urban population. To mitigate these risks, the establishment of well-planned shelter system is of utmost importance for effective emergency response. Urban underground space (UUS) stands out as a promising solution for providing shelter during times of disasters, owing to its distinct characteristics of confinement and stability. However, the majority of UUS do not function directly for emergency evacuation, leading to neglect at the planning phase. It is valuable to study an applicable planning technique to prospectively consider emergency shelter services of UUS. In this paper, based on digital tools, a method for the rapid quantitative extraction and analysis of a dynamic population distribution is proposed to quantify demand for emergency evacuation. A multi-step greedy algorithm and a social force model (SFM) with specialized parameters are constructed to realize the simulation and analysis on a digital platform with integrated urban models. A multi-criteria decision-making system for evaluating UUS layout is established using the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). Finally, a case study in Nanjing built-up area is presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method. The proposed method can expand the research perspective and data-driven toolkit for underground space planning.

An agent-based simulation framework for developing the optimal rescue plan for older adults during the emergency evacuation

Timely evacuation and rescue in an emergency are significantly important to avoid serious injuries and death in a residential building. Previous studies regarding building emergency plans tended to adopt the data of the average population, while ignoring the elderly people with their sensory impairment, limited mobility, and a great potential for chronic disease, are more vulnerable to emergencies and thus have a high risk of death. Therefore, this study proposes an agent-based simulation framework that integrates the behaviour of both evacuees and rescuers to determine the optimal rescue plan for older adults requiring assistance in emergency evacuation procedures. A case study of a senior residence is provided to demonstrate the applicability of the framework for rescue plan formulation under different evacuation scenarios. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to explore the influence of rescuers’ delay time on evacuation and rescue performance and a method comparison is made to verify the effectiveness of the framework proposed in this study for rescue process optimization.

Pedestrian Simulation on Evacuation Behavior in Teaching Building of Primary School Emergencies and Optimized Design

The spatial layout and arrangement of obstacles in the built environment significantly affect its evacuation performance. However, few researchers focus on pedestrian simulation-based design optimization of built environment under emergency evacuation conditions. In this paper, we aim to evaluate the evacuation performance of optimized design solutions for traffic space in the teaching building of a primary school based on a pedestrian simulation approach and to quantify the effect of design parameters on evacuation time. Firstly, the level of traffic space design parameters was determined and optimized design solutions for the traffic space of the school building were generated. Secondly, based on the Anylogic simulation platform, the environment module and pedestrian evacuation behaviour rules of the teaching building were built to realize the evacuation behaviour simulation. Thirdly, the effect of the traffic space design parameters on the evacuation time of the teaching building was evaluated and the most significant design parameters were identified. Finally, the optimal combination of traffic space design parameters was proposed under evacuation performance orientation. The results show that the sensitivity of the traffic space design parameters to evacuation time is 31.85%. The effect of corridor width on evacuation time is 49.06 times greater than the staircase width. The optimal design combination for the traffic space in the teaching building of the primary school is a 3.0 m wide trapezoidal corridor combined with a 3.6 m wide staircase, and a 3.0 m wide fish maw corridor combined with 3.6 m wide staircase, guided by evacuation performance. The framework developed in this paper provides technical support for the development of evacuation performance-oriented design optimization of the built environment, and the results are intended to supplement the building design specifications.