Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

Behavior of people during a simulated- fire evacuation practice in a high-rise office building in Tokyo was observed through video recording: subjective evaluation by the evacuees was also collected. About a fifth of the residents present in the building evacuated through two emergency stairs to the ground. The result suggests that stagnation of flow within the stairwell was noted in several spots even at this small number of evacuees. It was pointed out that doors opening into the stairway obstructed the smooth flow of people in the stairwell. Simultaneous total evacuation seems impractical in high-rise buildings; reasonable procedures for selective evacuation need to be developed. It is also concluded that more frequent education on fire safety is necessary for the building users to get accustomed to the evacuation procedures and facilities.