SUMMARY The word ‘panic’ is frequently used in media accounts and statements of survivors of emergency evacuations and fires, but what does it really mean, is it a phenomenon that actually occurs? This paper first examines the concept from the view of the general public, particularly the media. Definitions of panic behaviour related to emergency response are summarized and evidence of behaviour from actual fire incidents are presented through interview data and case studies. Despite the data demonstrating that panic is a very rare occurrence in fires, the idea of panic and the term continue to be used by the public as well as fire experts. It is therefore necessary to demystify the misconception that panic is an essential element of a fire and identify any scientific justification for continuing to use this concept. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An explosion below the World Trade Center plaza in New York City on February 26, 1993, killed six workers, and resulted in injuries to over 1,000 occupants as they made their way out of the affected buildings. The explosion and subsequent fne caused extensive structural damage on several basement levels, interfered with the operation of the fire protection and other emergency systems and resulted in the evacuation of tens of thousands of occupants of the complex. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) undertook a research project, funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the General Services Administration, NFPA and NRC, to study the behavior of building occupants in this incident and to document, to the extent possible, those engineering details such as building design, fne safety features, training, and smoke spread, that effected behavior.Over 400 occupants of the two 110-story office towers responded to a survey sent to the approximately 1,600 employees and tenants who were members of the fire safety team. This paper summarizes their responses, compares the responses between the two towers, and summarizes data on response times and initial actions.

Models to predict occupant response and evacuation will be an essential part of the move throughout the world toward performance-based codes and standards, as they are necessary for calculating the time required for occupants to reach safety, given a proposed design. To obtain realistic evacuation time predictions, it is essential to be able to accurately calculate the delay times occupants take before beginning evacuation. This paper reviews the findings from five evacuation studies. These studies include evacuation drills in midrise and highrise apartment'buildings and midrise office buildings. Findings from two fire incidentsa six-fatality highrise apartment building fire in Canada and the World Trade Center bombing in New York Cityare also discussed. The findings of particular interest are those related to problems in alerting occupants, delays reported or observed during evacuations, and the reasons behind those delays.

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