Analysis of the Human Behavior trapped in the Fire Hazards based on Protective Action Decision Model [PADM] (Case Study: Office high-rise buildings in Tehran)

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Seyed yaser Mousavi
• Shahab Kariminia
• Shirin Toghyani

Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch

10.22067/geo.v0i0.75934

Abstract

Introduction

With the growth of urbanization and the construction of high-rise buildings, attention to the behavior of individuals during the evacuation is an important issue in the design of such buildings. The concerns in this regard are the lack of proper behavior patterns during evacuation from high-rise buildings and lack of attention to the risk perception of individuals in the fire, which is one of the key factors influencing individual's decision-making, especially in the pre-evacuation phase in Iran. This issue is especially important in high-rise buildings due to the height and number of people. Human behavior is one of the key factors, and how to behave in crisis and emergency situations has become one of the concerns of researchers in recent decades, especially after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United States (Kuligowski, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2016; Kuligowski & Hoskins, 2010, 2011; Nilsson & Johansson, 2009; Norazahar et al., 2014; Proulx, 1993; X. Zhang, 2017; Zhu & Shi, 2016 , which can be considered as the most important factor in the necessity of risk analysis that changes the risk pattern (Moghimi, 2015). There are various models and patterns to determine behavior when humans are at risk and how they perceive the danger of many models and patterns (Hackman & Knowlden, 2014; Heath et al., 2017; Ryu & Kim, 2015). Among these, Protective Action Decision Model-PADM is a model that can be found to determine the behavior and perceptions of the perceived individuals in the fire compared to other models for the type of termination, the duration of the implementation and the simultaneous transmission of information to individuals (Lindell & Perry, 2012) more influential. The purpose of this study was to explore the behaviors of individuals who are caught in fire in the pre-flight phase. Subsequently, by placing these behaviors in Protective Action Decision Model, the risk perception of individuals in the fire will be measured and ultimately the activities that take time to evacuation this time will be identified. Several studies have been conducted on conceptual frameworks and different types of pre-evacuation activities, but the studies have been limited; Firstly, discuss the relationship of this activity with risk perception of individuals, secondly: activities that spend more time in the evacuation phase have not been identified. Using the results of this research one can first identify activities before evacuation of individuals, as well as activities that spend more time in high-rise office buildings, secondly, with the placement of the given activities in Protective Action Decision Model, we can measure their risk perception and prioritize those activities; and thirdly, the results of the present study, which are a new way of using Protective Action Decision Model based on the factors of each question - instead of answering "yes" or "no" in each direction - can be useful in determining more accurate individual's behaviors trapped in a fire. In this regard, the present research can be an innovative one.

Materials and Methods

The research method in this study is of mixed Method and its scope includes high-rise office buildings in Tehran during 2011-2017.  The sample is consisted of 8 high-rise office buildings based on the Cochran formula, in which the sample size includes 245 people who are either trapped in fire or evacuation. Impact components on the model core of decision making were based on specific studies and the questionnaire was designed in two sections. The first part is an open-ended question: what was your first action after realizing the fire? And for analysis the data Colaizzi Method was used. In the second part, the decision-making questions of five-step spectrum maimed the views of individuals caught in the fire, and the scores earned were calculated for each indicator. Finally, using the SPSS 22, linear regression coefficient (R2), and path coefficient (Beta), the role of components of the decision model in relation to pre-evacuation activities was determined.

Results and Discussion

The results showed that, the behaviors formed in the pre-evacuation phase were divided into two functional tasks (for examples: moving to the window and terrace and opening them to ask for help, collecting properties ect.) and information tasks (for examples: Contacting the fire department, building management and services ect.). It also showed that, these behaviors were examined based on Protective Action Decision Model and extracted four models. ‌ It was found that the behavior of “unlocking the unit door due to the smoke in lobby and corridor”, “collecting assets”, and “finding the staircase according to the familiarity with the path”, have the highest relationship with risk perception and spending lesser time.

Conclusion

In the study, using Colaizzi Method, first, ten behaviors were identified in the first protective action and then by placing the behaviors in the Protective Action Decision Model, four models were extracted. According to the results of the first model, it is suggested that in each high-rise building, exit patterns at the beginning of the entrance of elevators and stairs should be installed in order to increase the level of familiarity with the location. According to the results of the second model, it is suggested that the panel “The elevator is off during hazardous situations” and also emergency numbers written on it be installed. According to the results of the third model, it is recommended to make voice announcements in high-rise buildings and report exit status for individuals. Also, according to the results of the fourth model, it is suggested that in order to reduce the Normalcy bias and optimistic bias on exit, the intensity and validity of signs and warnings (for example, with flashing lights) be increased. In this way, the risk perception of individual's evacuation will increase and the time of evacuation from fire hazards will decrease.

Keywords

• Human Behavior
• Protective Action Decision Model [PADM]
• Fire Hazards
• High-rise Office Buildings

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