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SmokeControlandFireEvacuation

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HOME > FIRE / SMOKE > SMOKE CONTROL AND FIRE EVACUATION

SmokeControlandFireEvacuation
Whateverysmokecontroldesignershouldknowaboutfireevacuation,thepanic
myth,andhumanbehavior
ByJOHNH.KLOTE,DSc,PEJohnH.KloteInc.Leesburg,Va.|HPACEngineering
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Jul1,2008
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Movies, television, and the press often present an image that panicked behavior is common in fire
situations. Numerous studies have shown panic does not occur often.

Itisimportantthatprofessionalsinvolvedwithsmokecontrolknowaboutthemythof
panic.Movies,television,andthepressoftenpresentanunrealisticimagethatpanicked
behavioriscommoninfiresituations.Numerouspostfirestudieshaveshownthatpanic
doesnotoccuroften.1,2,3Peopleusuallyrespondadaptivelytoafireincidentandoften
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arealtruisticintheirbehavior.
Thisarticlewilladdressfireevacuationanalysisrelatedtosmokecontrolapplications.
Themostcommontypesofsmokecontrolsystemsarepressurizedstairwells,pressurized
elevators,zonedsmokecontrol,andatriumsmokecontrol.Evacuationanalysisoftenis
neededforsmokecontrolsystems,butisessentialforatriumsmokecontrolsystemsthat
relyonsmokefilling.Withsmokefillingsystems,occupantsshouldhavesufficienttimeto
leaveanatriumbeforesmokedescendsuponthem.
Duringbuildingfires,elevatorsalmostalwaysaretakenoutofservice,andvertical
evacuationtakesplaceviastairways.Inafewsituations,elevatorsareusedfor
evacuation,butthisarticlewilladdressonlyverticalevacuationviastairways.(For
informationaboutcalculatingevacuationtimeviaelevators,seeDesignofSmokeControl
SystemsforElevatorFireEvacuationIncludingWindEffects4andProtectedElevators

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forEgressandAccessDuringFiresinTallBuildings.5)
Theprimaryapproachtoestimatingevacuationtimeconsistsofahydraulicanalogythat
simulatespeopleasfluidparticles.Thisanalogycanbegeneratedwithandwithoutthe
considerationofhumanbehavior.(Formoredetailedinformationaboutestimating
evacuationtime,seeSFPEHandbookofFireProtectionEngineering1andPrinciplesof
SmokeManagement.6)However,manycomputermodelscanbeusedtoestimate
evacuationtimewithandwithouttheconsiderationofhumanbehavior.ANational
InstituteofStandardsandTechnologystudyexamined28ofthesecomputermodels.7
TOTALEVACUATIONTIME

Evacuationtimeconsistsofpremovementtimeandmovementtime.Forexample:
tt=tpm+tm

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tt=totalevacuationtime(inminutes)

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tpm=premovementtime(inminutes)
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=evacuationefficiency
Theapproachdescribedinthisarticleassumesthatpeoplefollowadirectedroutetotheir
destination,typicallytheoutdoorsoranareaofrefuge.Suchadirectedroutedoesnot
accountforthepossibilitiesofproceedinginthewrongdirection(e.g.,travelingin
circlesorbeingblockedbysmokeorfire).Forthisreason,anefficiencyfactorcommonly
isaddedtothemodeledevacuationtime.
Thereisnoconsensusaboutwhatvalueshouldbeusedforevacuationefficiency,but1.5
istheminimum.Formanyapplications,anefficiencyvalueof2wouldbemore
reasonable.Forexample,avalueof2mightbeconsideredforabuildingwithtwoegress
paths,oneofwhichmightbeblockedbysmokeorfire.

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PREMOVEMENTTIME

Premovementtimeisthetimefromtheignitionofafiretoaperson'sbecomingawareof
itanddecidingtomove.Therearemanywaysapersoncanbecomeawareofafire.Some
commoncuesofafireincludeseeingflame,smoke,orthefiredepartmentfeelingheat
smellingsmokehearingnoiseorafirealarmbeingtoldandlossofelectricalpower.For
adetaileddiscussionofthewaysthatoccupantsbecomeawareofafire,seeSFPE
HandbookofFireProtectionEngineering.1

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byLawrence(Larry)Clark,

Peopleoftenwaitforsometimeafterhearingafirealarmtorespond.Partofthereason
forsuchwaitingisexperiencewithfalsealarms.Itisreasonabletoexpectmuchless
waitingtimewhenpeoplebecomeawareofafirebyseeingfireorsmoke.

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TABLE1.TypesoffirealarmsignalsusedindrillsinaLondonsubwaystation.

Astudyofhumanresponsestovarioustypesoffirealarmsignalsindrillswasconducted
atmidafternooninaLondonsubwaystation.8Videocamerasrecordedindividuals'
responses,andinterviewssupplementedthevideorecording.Fivetypesofalarmswere
usedinthestudy(Table1).Alarmswereinitiated5secafteratrainarrivedatthestation.
ItcanbeseenfromTable2thatpremovementtimeamountedtoasmuchas9minfor
analarmbellonly,butwasmuchlesswithverbalannouncements.However,caution
needstobeexercisedwiththeuseofverbalannouncements,astheyinvolvecomplex
humanbehaviorissues.

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TABLE2.ResponsestovariousfirealarmsignalsinaLondonsubwaystation.

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MODELEDEVACUATIONTIME

Approachesthatcanbeusedtocalculateevacuationtimeincludecomponentby
componentanalysisandconstrainedflowanalysis.Componentbycomponentanalysis
involvesadeterminationofthetimeittakesforapopulationtotraverseeachegress
component.Thedensityofflowalongeachegresscomponentmustbedeterminedto
measurevelocityandflowrate.Componentbycomponentanalysiscanbeusedto
analyzecomplexflowsituationsinvolvingmerging,diverging,andconvergingflows.
Componentbycomponentanalysisismorecomplicatedandtimeconsumingthan
constrainedflowanalysis.Ifacomponentbycomponentanalysisisrequired,a
computergeneratedevacuationmodelshouldbeconsidered.

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CONSTRAINEDFLOWANALYSIS

Theconstrainedflowapproachisappropriateforanegresssystemthathasapointat
whichalineofwaitingpeopleforms.Consideringthattheconstraintistheexterior
stairwelldoorandalloccupantsstarttheirevacuationsimultaneouslyattimezero,the
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modeledevacuationtimeisestimatedas:
tm=ta+tc
where:
tm=modeledevacuationtimeforanegressroute(inminutes)
ta=timeforfirstpersontoarriveattheexteriorstairwelldoor(inminutes)
tc=timeforpopulationtopassthroughtheexteriorstairwelldoor(inminutes)
Ifallstairwelldoorsarethesamewidth,theconstraintwillbeattheexteriorstairwell
door.Ifthewidthoftheexteriordoorislessthanthesumofthewidthsoftheinterior
stairwelldoorsthatareusedforevacuation,theexteriordoorstillistheconstraint.
Consideringthatthefirstpersontoreachtheexteriorstairwelldooriswalkingdownthe
stairsfromthefloorabove,thetimetoreachtheexteriordoorisabout0.5min.Thetime
forthepopulationtopassthroughtheexteriorstairwellisestimatedas:

TABLE3.Thetimeittakesforapersontopassthroughtheexterior
stairwelldoordependsonthedoor'swidth

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tc=P
where:
=timeforapersontopassthroughtheexteriorstairdoor(inminutes)
P=populationevacuatingthroughthestairs
Thetimeittakesforapersontopassthroughtheexteriorstairwelldoor,,dependson
thedoor'swidth(Table3).
EXAMPLECALCULATION

Let'sdeterminetheevacuationtimeforafivestorybuildingwithtwostairwaysand200
peopleoneachfloor(Figure1).Thedoorsleadingintoandoutofthestairwaysare32in.
wide.Thepremovementtime,tpm,isestimatedat8min,andtheevacuationefficiency,
,istakentobe2.

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FIGURE1.Evacuationpathsforafivestorybuildingwithtwostairways
and200peopleoneachfloor
Thepeopleonthefirstfloorwouldexitdirectlytotheoutsidewithoutusingthestairs.
Thepopulationoftheremainingfloorsusingthetwostairwaysiscalculatedas:
4(200)=800people
Itisconsideredthathalfofthepeoplewoulduseonestairway,andhalfwouldusethe
other.Therefore,thepopulationusingastairwayisP=400.AsseeninTable3,=0.025
fora32in.wideexteriorstairwelldoor.Thetimeforpopulationtopassthroughthe
exteriorstairisestimatedas:
tc=P=0.025(400)=10min
Themodeledevacuationtimeis:
tm=ta+tc=0.5+10=10.5min
Thetotalevacuationtimeis:
tt=tpm+tm=8+2(10.5)=29min
SUMMARY

Evacuationtimecanbeestimatedbyahydraulicanalogytosimulatepeopleasfluid
particles.Itisimportantthatestimatesofevacuationtimeincludepremovementtime
andevacuationefficiency.Theconstrainedflowapproachisappropriateforalarge
numberofbuildingsinwhichtheexteriorstairwelldooristheflowconstraint.Formore
complexegressroutes,acomponentbycomponentanalysiscanbedone,and
informationaboutthiskindofanalysisisavailablefromothersources.Forsuch
complicatedroutes,readersmayconsiderusingacomputerevacuationmodel.

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REFERENCES
1. SocietyofFireProtectionEngineers.(2002).SFPEhandbookoffireprotection

engineering.Quincy,MA:NationalFireProtectionAssociation.
2. Quarentelli,E.L.(1979,October).Fivepapersfromthepanelsessiononpanic.

PaperpresentedattheSecondInternationalSeminaronHumanBehaviorinFire
Emergencies,Washington,DC.
3. Keating,J.(1982).Themythofpanic.FireJournal,3,5761,147.
4. Klote,J.H.(1995,April).Designofsmokecontrolsystemsforelevatorfire

evacuationincludingwindeffects.PaperpresentedatElevators,Fire,and
Accessibility,SecondSymposium,NewYork,NY.
5. Bukowski,R.W.(2003,October).Protectedelevatorsforegressandaccessduring

firesintallbuildings.PaperpresentedattheCIBCTBUHConferenceonTall
Buildings,KualaLumpur,Malaysia.
6. Klote,J.H.,&Milke,J.A.(2002).Principlesofsmokemanagement.Atlanta:

AmericanSocietyofHeating,RefrigeratingandAirConditioningEngineers.
7. Kuligowski,E.D.(2004,June).Reviewof28egressmodels.Paperpresentedatthe

WorkshoponBuildingOccupantMovementDuringFireEmergencies,
Gaithersburg,MD.
8. Proulx,G.,&Sime,J.D.(1991,July).Topreventpanicinanunderground

emergency:Whynottellpeoplethetruth.PaperpresentedattheThird
InternationalSymposiumonFireSafetyScience,Edinburgh,Scotland.
Asmokecontrolconsultant,JohnH.Klote,DSc,PE,developedandconductsaseriesof
smokecontrolseminarsfortheSocietyofFireProtectionEngineers.For19years,he
conductedfireresearchfortheNationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology.Heis
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oneoftheauthorsofthebooksAGuidetoSmokeControlinthe2006IBCand
PrinciplesofSmokeManagement.
RelatedArticles:
TheTrueStory
FireandSmokeDamperControl

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