A study of evaluating an evacuation time

Abstract

The occupants inside the fire site often only have a few minutes to evacuate, which is referred to as the golden evacuation time. In this study, total evacuation time was divided into response time, moving time, and waiting time. A regression model was adopted to incorporate three independent variables (floor area, number of exits, and per-floor occupant load) and determine their effect on a dependent variable, called as the evacuation time. Despite its widespread use in multiple domains, regression analysis has not been used to explore the evacuation time. The total evacuation time is to leave a fire site can successfully escape the fire. Here, the results indicated that the occupants left a fire site less than the total evacuation time. The total evacuation time calculation can also be applied to a fire protection system; this allows emergency personnel to update the total evacuation time in real time, while simultaneously informing occupants of the remaining available time to safely escape from a fire site. This study showed that regression analysis is a useful method for evacuation time calculation and can serve as an assessment tool in fire accident–related scientific research and accident investigation.