Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

This study addresses group formation and leadership during the evacuation of a high-rise office building due to fire. Rather than focusing on the psychological parameters of individual evacuee behavior, the authors concentrate on the social context and organizational characteristics of the occupancy within which decisions about evacuation strategy, group formation and questions of leadership are made. A distinction is drawn between "emergent" (situational) and "imposed" (authoritative) leaders and between the processes of status emergence (achievement of influence) and status maintenance (retention of influence). Both leadership and group formation can be viewed not only in terms of psychological processes but also as the interaction between the normal organizational structure and the roles people assume and play within their group.