Analysis and modelling of the unannounced evacuation of a large retail store

Abstract

The modelling of the unannounced evacuation of two Marks & Spencer stores conducted by the University of Ulster with the public in the stores using the evacuation simulation model SIMULEX is presented. The occupant behaviour data and information was recorded in each evacuation by means of strategically positioned cameras which recorded the entire evacuation, and questionnaires which were administered to the evacuees as they exited the building. Observed evacuation times are compared with evacuation simulation scenarios and discussed. Future improvements to the simulation model are identified. Issues with respect to design evacuation scenarios and evacuation strategies are raised. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Modelling the evacuation of a high-rise office building in Istanbul

“…The occupant can move from one cell to another and a single occupant can occupy only one cell at a time. The greatest advantage of these programmes such as, buildingEXODUS [23], SIMULEX [24] and CRISP [25], is to allow for the movement characteristics by taking into account the furniture layout and location of walls or compartments. In all of these models, highly variable movement speeds for occupants can be incorporated for more realistic predictions.…”

“…can take place [28,29]. Currently only computer models such as, buildingEXODUS [23], SIMULEX [24] and CRISP [25] are capable of modelling most of the above variables. CRISP can evaluate if the occupant is awake or asleep in considering the cognition time [30,31].…”

“…Rule-based evacuation depending on the different egress planning strategies is only possible with SIMULEX and buildingEXODUS. Unlike CRISP which is reported to incorporate only shortest egress routes [25], SIMULEX and buildingEXODUS can direct the occupants to specific exits or to the exits of their personal knowledge [23,24,32]. The buildingEXODUS [32] is superior to SIMULEX, in that, it is capable of modelling the patience levels of the occupants in queues, redirecting them to the nearest alternative exit or a second exit of their knowledge.…”

“…The other computer programmes mentioned are only suitable to get an insight into a basic egress analysis. Analytical studies using these advanced software as a tool to develop an understanding of the evacuation efficiency and any potential defects of the building were presented in various references [23,24,37,38]. A similar approach was also adopted in the present paper, but an effort has been made to develop a more robust methodology of collecting data and representing the occupant and environmental characteristics in fire in the computer simulation.…”

“…Pre-movement times can differ from person to person, and normally should be specified individually in the light of realistically simulated conditions. There is not a widely accepted procedure to specify pre-movement times, but evacuation drills targeting the examined occupants and building can provide valuable data [11,17,24,37]. In the study, the video recording of a real evacuation drill belonging to a single floor of the examined building where was occupied with 24 workers, has been used to determine the pre-movement times of the female and male occupants and then these times are generalised over the whole population of females and males.…”