Guidance for the Model User on Representing Human Behavior in Egress Models

Area of Science:

• Fire Safety Engineering
• Human Behavior in Disasters
• Evacuation Modeling

Background:

• Current fire safety design uses prescriptive and performance-based methods.
• Performance-based design (PBD) requires quantifying Available Safe Egress Time (ASET) and Required Safe Egress Time (RSET).
• Estimating RSET for evacuation performance is limited by the accurate representation of human behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the limitations in representing human behavior within evacuation models.
• To improve the accuracy of RSET calculations in performance-based fire safety analyses.
• To provide guidance on incorporating behavioral science into evacuation modeling.

Main Methods:

• Review and organization of behavioral statements from fire and disaster studies.
• Utilizing an overarching theory of decision-making and human behavior in disasters.
• Developing guidance for integrating these behavioral statements into evacuation models.

Main Results:

• A structured set of behavioral statements relevant to fire emergencies is presented.
• A framework is proposed for incorporating these behavioral insights into evacuation modeling.
• The study aims to enhance the fidelity of human behavior representation in safety analyses.

Conclusions:

• Improved representation of evacuee decision-making and behavior is essential for accurate RSET estimation.
• Integrating behavioral science into evacuation models will enhance the reliability of performance-based fire safety assessments.
• This work provides a foundation for more realistic fire evacuation simulations and safety designs.