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EvacuationofTallBuildings

BryanHoskins,Ph.D.|FireProtectionEngineering

Apr1,2013

Tallbuildingsbegantodramaticallychangetheskylinesinmajorcitiesmorethanacenturyago.
Technologicaladvancesmadeitpossibleforpeopletoeffectivelyusespacesatheightsfarabove
gradelevel.Tallbuildingsprovidechallengesforthedesignersoffireprotectionsystemsnotfound
inotherbuildings.
Likepreviouseditions,the2012editionofNFPA101,theLifeSafetyCode1allowsbuildingdesigners
touseperformancebasedoptionsindesigningtheegresssysteminthebuilding.Theperformance
criterionisgiveninSection5.2.2.Basedonthissectionofthecode,thedesignermustconsiderthe
differentfiresthatcouldoccurinthebuilding,howthesefireswillimpacttenability,andhowlong
theoccupantswillrequiretosafelyevacuatethebuilding.
Whenusingthisapproach,alloftheassumptionsanddesignmethodsmustbeincludedinthe
simulationoftheevacuation.Thismeansthattheegresssystemdesignermustdevelopassumptions
abouthowthepopulationisexpectedtobehaveduringtheevacuationofatallbuilding.These
assumptionsthenhavetobeappliedtothecalculationusingdatathatisavailable.
WhatisnotdirectlystatedbyNFPA101isthattheegresssystemdesignerneedstounderstandthe
sourceofthedataandhowitappliestotallbuildings.Somebehaviorsmightbeinsignificantfor
someonegoingdownasingleflightofstairs,butbecomemoresignificantasthetraveldistances
becomemuchlarger.
Onepotentialsolutionistoapplysafetyfactorstothedesign.Withonlyalimitedunderstandingof
thedata,alargesafetyfactormayberequiredsoastonotsubjectthebuildingoccupantstoundo
risk.
Thisarticlewilllookatcomponentsoftheevacuationtimeofoccupantsintallbuildingsandthe
assumptionsthataremadebyegresssystemdesigners.Thefocuswillbeonthemovementtoand
withinthestairsaswellasthedatausedtodevelopanestimateofthedescentrate.Howthedata
wascollectedrelativetoitsapplicationforuseintallbuildingswillbeanalyzed.Finally,otheregress
optionswillbediscussed.
FIRSTASSUMPTION:TIMEREQUIREDTOSTARTEVACUATING
Theegresssystemdesignerneedstoconsidertwosetsofconditionsinparallel.Ononeside,thereis
thefiregrowthandtenabilityinthedifferentbuildingareas.Ontheotherside,therearethe
buildingoccupantsthatneedtogettoaplaceofsafety.Forpeopleremotefromthefire,theyneed
toreceivesomecue(e.g.,smellsmoke,seeflames,orhearanemergencyannouncement)beforethey
willstarttoevacuate.Occupantsremotefromtheignitionlocationmayrequiresometimebefore
theystarttoevacuate.Inatallbuilding,directobservationoffirecuesmightnotbepossiblefor
occupantslocatedmanyfloorsawayand/orontheoppositesideofthebuilding.Intallbuildings,it
islikelythatmanyofthebuildingoccupantswillnotbecomeawareoftheneedtoevacuateuntilthe
firealarmsystemactivates.

Theegresssystemdesignercouldaddthetimeforthealarmtoactivatetothetimecalculatedfor
egress.Inthiscase,theassumptionisthatalloftheoccupantshearthealarmandimmediatelystart
towardtheexit.Itisbasedonallpeopleperceivingthealarm,payingattentiontoit,
comprehendingwhatitmeans,realizingthatitappliestothem,andthendecidingtoevacuate.
Researchhasshownthatmanypeopledonotrecognizethetemporalthreesignalasapplyingto
fires.2Evenwhenpeopleintallbuildingsdorealizethatthereisanemergency,theyhavereported
doingothertasks.3
Whenusingthepreevacuationtimesfromtables,usingtheaveragevaluecreatestwopotential
limitations.First,thedatahasonlybeencollectedfromarelativelysmallnumberofincidents.
Trainingandotherunknownvariablescouldcausethesetimestobetooshortortoolong.More
dataisneededtobeabletofullyunderstandwhatthemostappropriatevaluesare.Second,NFPA
101requiresthatalloccupantsremotefromignitionbeprotectedfromuntenableconditions.If
somevulnerablepopulationsrequiremorepreevacuationtime,usingtheaveragevaluewillleave
thematriskfornotbeingabletoevacuatebeforeconditionsbecomeuntenable.
SECONDASSUMPTION:MOVEMENTWITHINTHESTAIRS
Fortheevacuationofatallbuilding,stairsareintendedtoallowpeopletodescendandleavethe
building.Whilethereissometraveldistanceontheflooroforigin,NFPA101limitsthattravel
distance.Afterdescendingfewerthan11floors,thebuildingoccupantshavetravelledfurtherwithin
thestairthanbeforetheyreachedit.4
Thedescenttimesintallbuildingscanbesubstantial.Whilethestairscanusuallybeconsidered
safe,apoorestimateofhowpeopledescendcouldleadtocrowdedconditionsthatpreventpeople
fromthefloorsfromenteringthestairs.
OneequationthathasbeenusedforcalculationofmovementonstairsisfoundintheSFPE
HandbookofFireProtectionEngineering.5TheHandbookdoesnotprovideanylimitationsonthe
applicabilityoftheresults.Fordensitiesgreaterthan0.54persons/m2andlessthan3.8persons/m2,
theSFPEHandbookequationis:
S=kakD(Equation1)
where:
S=Speedalongthelineoftravel(m/sorft/min)
D=Density(persons/m2orpersons/ft2)
k=constantforfourdifferentriserandtreadcombinations
a=empiricalconstant(0.266whencalculatingm/s,2.86whencalculatingft/min)
Fordensitieslessthan0.54persons/m2,thepeopleareabletotravelattheirfreespeed(thespeed
at0.54persons/m2).Fordensitiesgreaterthan3.8persons/m2,theflowcomestoastop.

Basedonthisformulaandnolimitations,itisthenpossibletopredicttheevacuationtime.Inorder
todoso,thereareseveralmoreassumptionsthataremade.
THIRDASSUMPTION:THEORIGINSOFTHESFPEHANDBOOKEQUATIONAPPLY
TOTALLBUILDINGS
Fortraveldownstairs,theHandbookequationisbasedprimarilyontheworkoftworesearchers
fromthe1960sand1970s.TheequationcomesmainlyfromtheworkofPaulsandFruin.5
TheworkofFruin6primarilyinvolvedpedestrianplanningforhorizontalegressandingress
components.Forlevelsurfaces,hedevelopedsix"levelsofservice"(AtoF)toqualitativelyexplain
theabilityofpeopletochoosetheirwalkingspeedatdifferentdensities.Heextendedhis
observationsbyobservingtwodifferentstairs.Oneofthestairswasindoorsandtheotherwasan
outdoorstadium.
Againthe"levelsofservice"rangedfromLevelA(below0.54persons/m2),wherepeoplearefreeto
choosetheirownspeedtoLevelF(above2.70persons/m2),wherethedescentisreducedtoa
shufflingpace.Inneithercasewasitreportedthatthebuildingoccupantswereintallbuildings.
Inthe1960sand1970s,Pauls7observedevacuationsof58tallbuildingsinCanadawitharangeof
riserandtreaddimensions.Thesebuildingswereupto20storiesinheight,butmostwereshorter.
Inhisstudy,helookedatbuildingaveragesandalimitednumberofspotmeasurements.Fromthis
data,heproposedthatthedescentspeedcouldbecalculatedbasedon:
S=1.080.29D(Equation2)
where:
S=Speedalongthelineoftravel(m/s)
D=Density(persons/m2)
If,inEquation1,theconstantsforthemetricunitsand17.8cmriserheightand27.9cmtread
depthareused,thetwoequationsareequivalent.
Usingthesamedata,Pauls8laterreportedthatmostofthestairsinhisstudyhad17.8cmriser
heightsand27.9cmtreaddepths.Hetheorizedthatpeoplemightdescendstairsatdifferentrates
dependingontheriserheightandtreaddepth.Withhistheoreticalequation,hecalculatedwhat
thedifferentspeedsmightbeforfourdifferentcombinations.Healsoexplicitlystatedthatthe
valueswerenotbasedonactualdataandshouldnotbeusedinpractice.
Basedonthesethreepiecesofresearch,NelsonandMacClennan9developedEquation1.Whenthe
densitywaslessthan0.54persons/m2,theyusedthefindingsofFruin6todeterminethefree
movementspeed.Thesubsequentspeedvaluesforthe17.8cmriserheightand27.9cmtreaddepth
casewasbasedontheworkofPauls.7The3.8persons/m2endpointwasbasedonwherethegraph
crossedthexaxis.ItisatamuchgreaterdensitythanFruin6gaveforlevelofserviceFandwell

beyondthemaximumdensityobservedbyPauls.7Fortheotherthreekvalues,Nelsonand
MacClennan9usedthetheoreticalvaluesthatPauls8hadsaidshouldnotbeusedinpractice.These
otherkvaluescamefromtheassumptionsmadebyPaulsandnotfromdatathathadactuallybeen
collected.
ItshouldbenotedthatPauls7andFruin6didnotmeasuredensityinthesamemanner.
Pauls7identifiedaboundarylayerthatpeopleleavebetweenthemselvesandwalls.Hisdensity
measurementsarebasedontheeffectivewidth.Thepreviousapproachusedtheentirearea.Thus,
valuefromFruin6shouldhavebeenadjustedtobecomparabletothemeasurementsofPauls.7
FOURTHASSUMPTION:THESFPEHANDBOOKEQUATIONAPPLIESINALL
CASES
TherearesevenissuesthatchallengetheassumptionthatEquation1isvalidforuseintall
buildings:
Therelianceonaveragescouldleadtounderestimatingtimesforvulnerablepopulations.
Thebasisondensityratherthanhumaninteractionsmightnotmatchreality.
Theuntestedkvaluesmightnotbevalid.
Forbuildingsover20floors(andpossiblylessduetosamplesizeissues),thebuildingsaretallerthan
thoseusedtocollecttheoriginaldata.
Thepopulationconsideredmightnotberepresentativeoftheearlierpopulation.
Themeasurementmethodsusedmightnotbeconsistent.
Theequationcanbeappliedtodensitiesthatwerenotobserved.

Equation1isprimarilyaregressionequationthatwasdevelopedusingaveragedvalues.Whilethis
cangiveanapproximationofthemeanvalue,itdoesnotgiveanyindicationofthescatterofthe
data.Inordertodevelopanappropriatesafetyfactor,theexpectedminimummovementspeeds
needtobeknown.Thisisespeciallytrueifthoseminimumvaluesapplytoaparticular
subpopulation.Ifthatsubpopulationwillalwaysmoveslowerthanaverage,itisnotconservativeto
applytheaveragevaluetothem.
Withtheintenttoprotectalloccupantsnotintimatewithignition,relyingonjustaveragevalues
couldleadtovulnerablepopulationsnothavingsufficienttimetoevacuate.Forexample,Boyce,
Shields,andSilcock10foundthatpeoplewithvaryinglevelsofphysicalimpairmentsrequired
greatertimetodescendstairs.
AnotherunderlyingassumptionofEquation1isthatpeoplebehavelikeafluid.Theflowrateoutis
aconstantandthepeopledonotinteractinanywayotherthanthedensitynoonepersonwillslow
downtheotherpeoplearoundthem.Pauls8specificallyaddressedthispointbynotingthatpeople
passedslowerindividualstokeeptheultimateflowinlinewiththeexpectedresults.However,
Shields,etal.11foundthatoccupantswereunwillingtopassawheelchairuserbeingassisteddown
thestairs(approximately40cmavailabletopass)andProulx,etal.12foundthatoccupantsusing
thehandrailorwithdisabledoccupantsaheadofthemdidnotpassslowermovingoccupants.
Finally,Shields,etal.13foundthatpeoplemovingbehindaslowermovingoccupantchosenotto

pass.Evenbeyondtheconsiderationsofthevulnerablepopulations,peoplewillinteractasthey
descend.Forexample,JonesandHewitt14discussedgroupsformingduringevacuationsandhow
thosepeopleinteractedbothbeforeandduringtheirdescent.
Abetterunderstandingoftheseinteractionscouldresultinanimprovedunderstandingonthe
amountoftimethatpeoplewillrequiretodescend.However,assumingthattheslowermoving
peoplewilljustbepassedisnotconservative.
AnotherpotentiallimitationwithEquation1isthekvaluethatisused.Whiletheworkof
Templer15indicatesthattherecouldbedifferencesinspeedbasedonriserheightsandtread
depths,itisunknownifthekvaluesinEquation1areaccurate.Applyingtheequationtoany
situationotherthana17.8cmriserheightand27.9cmtreaddepthisoutsidethescopeofthedata
thatwascollected.Howmuchofanerrorthiswillmakeinthefinalpredictedvalueisunknown.
Thescopeofthedatacouldalsolimiteffectsthatwouldmanifestthemselvesaspeopledescended
greaterdistances.TheJointCommittee16believedthatfatiguewouldstarttoplayarolewhenthere
werenomergingflows,andGaleaandBlake17reportedinstanceswherefatiguewascausedby
footwear.Equation1doesnothaveanydifferenceinspeedcausedbyfatigue.Basedonthe
equation,apersondescendingfromthetopofahundredstorybuildingwouldneverslowdown.If
fatigueisaneffect,thenEquation1presentsanoptimisticestimationofspeedonstairsintall
buildings.
Questionshavealsobeenraisedabouttheapplicabilityofdatacollectednearlyhalfacenturyago
onthepopulationoftoday.Pauls,Fruin,andZupan18wereunsureaboutwhetherthechanging
demographicsofthepopulationwouldcausedescentspeedstobeslower.Itisimportanttonote
thattheresearcherswhoseworkenabledthecreationofEquation1questionedwhetheritwasstill
applicableornot.
HoskinsandMilke4explainthedifferentmethodstomeasureoccupantdensitythathavebeenused
bypreviousresearchersandincludeamethodforcalculatinglandingdistancesnotdonefor
Equation1.Also,relatedtothepreviousissueaboutthekvalues,Hoskins19hasproposedamethod
forequatingdensitiesondifferenttreaddimensions,andwhenlandingsareincluded,tomake
equationsapplicabletomorestairconfigurations.However,thismethodneedstobevalidatedusing
moredata.
Thefinalpotentialproblemthatcanarisewhenusingequation1fortallbuildingsistohave
theoreticalconditionsthatdonotmatchreality.Themaximumdensitydoesnotmatchthe
observationsofFruin6oranyobservationmadebyPauls7.Anycalculationsthatinvolvethehighest
densityconditionsmaynotbeaccurate.
Allsevenofthelimitationscomebacktoonecentralpointwhenconsideringpeoplemovementin
tallbuildings:Equation1couldbeaccurate.Howaccurateisunknownandthusrequiressafety
factors.Afterall,insmallerbuildings,anestimatedtimethatisoffbyafewsecondsperfloorresults
inerrorsthatfallwithinthelevelofthenoiseofthedata.Asthebuildingsgettaller,thoseseconds
canbecomeminutesifnottensofminutes.Theerrorscanthenriseabovethelevelofthenoise.

USEOFCOMPUTERMODELS
ManyoftheissuesinvolvingEquation1applytotheuseofthecomputermodels.Whenamodelis
used,thesystemdesignerneedstobeawareofthelimitationsofthemodel,thebasisofthe
calculations,andhowthedefaultsettingsaltertheresults.Simplyusingthedefaultsettingsmight
notprovideaccurateresultsforevacuationsfromtallbuildingsforallofthereasonsthatappliedto
Equation1.
VULNERABLEPOPULATIONS
Thetraveltimedownstairsrequiredforvulnerablepopulationscouldbesubstantial,ortheymight
notbeabletodescendthestairsatall.The2012editionofNFPA1011allowstheuseofelevatorsfor
occupantcontrolledegresspriortophase1emergencyrecall.Thisshouldhelptomeetthegoalof
protectingallbuildingoccupantsnotintimatewithignitionintallbuildings.
BryanHoskinsiswithOklahomaStateUniversity.
References:
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