Evacuation Methods During a Fire - London - Research Paper Example

EFFECTIVE EVACUATION METHODS DURING BUILDING FIRES: AN ANALYSIS INVESTIGATORS: ABSTRACT: Fires can be generally be defined as a “rapid, persistent chemical change that releases heat and light and is accompanied by flame” (Answers Corporation 2008). Measures to prevent fires from occurring and to tackle them in the event of their occurrence are of paramount importance as fires can cause extensive damage to both property and people. At present fires in buildings- both residential and commercial occur frequently across the world due to multitude of reasons. However, to prevent loss of lives and fire related injuries the people occupying these buildings need to be evacuated safely. Though there might be different evacuation procedures this research proposal aims to identify the most effective methods of evacuating people during building fires. Special measures to evacuate disabled people in the buildings would also be analyzed. The research also stresses the importance of fire evacuation plans and evacuation drills in high rise buildings. The research would primarily focus on the capital city London. Data would be collected through a structured interview from two groups- the occupants of various buildings and fire fighting personnel. The participants in the research would be randomly selected and the data collected would be analyzed qualitatively. The implications of the research and the scope of future surveys on the subject are also discussed. The results of the research would be disseminated to the people concerned. INTRODUCTION: Disasters like fires have serious consequences on the emotional stability of the people encountering them due to extensive damage to their lives and property. They also instill a sense of fear and helplessness in the event of casualties. Since buildings have become a common entity in cities housing both residential units and commercial ones it has become extremely important for both the residents and fire fighting personnel to be well equipped to deal with building fires. Building fires pose serious or fatal consequences to both the residents and fire fighters due to its unpredictable nature (Bartelme 2007). Asphyxiation, burn injuries, building collapses are some of the dangers that a building fire can pose. Also researches show that building fires are more likely to occur during the time when the residents are least alert or sleeping (Federal Emergency Management Agency 1993 pp. 3-4). So the evacuation of the residents from the vicinity of the building fire is an absolute necessity. Evacuation can be defined as “leaving a place in an orderly fashion; especially for protection” (The Free Dictionary 2008). Evacuation should be executed in an organized manner to be effective. For the purposes of this research literature analyzed concentrates on the general evacuation procedures and special measures for disabled people. Evacuation can be divided into different phases. The total time required for escape is called RSET which includes pre movement time and travel time. Pre movement time is the time taken for the initial phases of evacuation while travel time is the time taken for the occupants to move through an escape route to safety (BRE 2008). The first phase is the detection phase. Once the fire is detected the residents should inform the fire department and after which a fire alarm is activated in the building. The next phase can be termed as the reaction phase where the residents of the building react to the fire. The residents should stay calm, gather their personal belongings (if possible) and use the stairs to assemble themselves in the designated emergency assembly area of the building. Care should be taken by the residents to avoid fire and smoke and they should not reenter the building unless instructed to do so (Berkeley University 2008). It was identified that people with disabilities would require additional help to evacuate from the buildings during fires and achieve "equal egressibility" (Proulx & Pineau 1996 p. 4). Egressibility can be defined as the ability of the occupants to safely evacuate from the buildings and safeguard their lives. Studies insist that various strategies should be planned for the safety of the disabled occupants and a combination of these should be implemented for the purpose. Allocating refuge areas, installing safe elevators in the buildings and making use of the buddy system (where specific people assist the disabled ones) are some of the strategies which are of use to these special people. Also these strategies should be implemented after taking into consideration various factors such as the building design and the occupants (Proulx & Pineau 1996 p. 4). Three different types of evacuation strategies were identified. Evacuation and fire fighting may be executed simultaneously, or only evacuation might be carried out without fighting the fire. Another strategy known as the defend in place strategy is to tackle the fire without evacuation (Dunn 2003). Also evacuation methods can be divided into horizontal and vertical methods. Horizontal evacuation is moving people away from fire into an area of fire resistant refuge while vertical evacuation is moving people downwards away from the fires and smoke through a flight of stairs or aerial bridges (Dunn 2003). During the process of reviewing the literature it was also understood that evacuation plans and evacuation drills play a very important role during the event of such fires. An emergency drill prepares the building occupants for a real evacuation in case of fires while an evacuation plan would help in an organized and effective evacuation. AIMS OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH: To understand the various types of evacuation strategies during building fires To identify the most effective method of evacuation during such fires RESEARCH QUESTIONS: What are the different methods of evacuation practiced during building fires? What is the most effective method of evacuation during building fires? What are the best strategies for evacuating disabled occupants of buildings? How important is fire evacuation drills and fire evacuation plans? RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: The research study would be a basic, exploratory study. Basic research is a systematic study, which is mainly conducted by academics to understand new facts and gain knowledge (Borgatti 1997). Exploratory research or inductive or theory building research design is generally used at the initial stages of the research. The design helps the researcher to define the problem under consideration more clearly after data collection and analysis so that subsequent researches can be conducted (Borgatti 1997). DATA COLLECTION: There are two types of data-primary and secondary. Primary data is collected by the researcher exclusively to conduct the research. For the purposes of this research primary data would be collected through structured interviews. Interviews can be defined as “a data-collection encounter in which one person (an interviewer) asks questions of another (a respondent)” (University of Washington n.d.). Interviews offer a personal perspective of the respondents about the research study. Interviews may either be conducted with individuals or to groups. In structured interviews the interviewer asks all the respondents the same questions. The interviewer administers carefully phrased or worded questions to the respondents and doesn’t deviate much from the questions. The main aim of such interviews to procure accurate answers for the questions (Mahoney 1997). PARTICIPANTS: The participants of the research are selected through random sampling methods. Sampling can be defined as “the practice of choosing a subset of population elements to study instead of the entire population” (Borgatti 1997). Sampling is necessary since the entire population would be too large a number to include in the research study. Two groups of 25 people each would be selected randomly. One group would be occupants of various buildings while the other group would consist of fire fighting personnel of various ranks. DATA ANALYSIS: The data collected from the participants would be recorded and transcribed. To answer the research questions and satisfy the aims of the proposed research the collected data need to be analyzed. The textual data would be analyzed and the results would be represented as charts and graphs using the Microsoft Excel package. RESEARCH ETHICS: Research Ethics or responsible conduct of research is a significant part of a research and deals with the respect we show towards the respondents or participants of the research (Marion 2004). The following issues should be taken in consideration. Informed Consent: This is the term denoting the process of voluntary participation of a respondent after the purpose and the risks associated with the research is clearly understood. Informed consent of a respondent is an important ethical consideration. Intrusion of the respondent’s privacy: The researcher should take utmost care so as not to intrude upon the respondent’s privacy during the course of the research. Any infringement on the privacy would cause psychological harm and stress to the respondent (Marion 2004). Representation of the respondent’s views: The researcher should take care to prevent any omission or misrepresentation of the respondent’s views and opinions (Marion 2004). TIMESCALE AND RESEARCH PLANNING: S.No Activity Weeks 1. Confirming the topic for the research Week 1 2. Confirming aims of research, research questions and research design Week 1 and Week 2 3. Literature review Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4 4. Sampling and interview design Week 4 5. Data collection from the participants Week 4 and Week 5 5. Data Analysis Week 6 6. Writing the research study Week 7, Week, 8 and 9 7. Presentation of the research and dissemination Week 10 DISSEMINATION AND OUTCOME: Since this research is conducted to identify the best evacuation method during building fires the results of the research would have its implications on many categories of the society. It would be of interest to students, personnel of the fire departments, service providers and those people responsible for fire fighting in buildings such as hospitals, schools and universities. The research might be either presented personally by the researcher in the university or college or might be uploaded on the internet in specific journals for a wider audience. The research might pave way for further researches on the subject. BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. Answers Corporation (2008) Fire [online] available from < http://www.answers.com/topic/fire?cat=technology> [11May 2008] 2. Bartelme, T (2007) Building collapse one of biggest dangers [online] available from < http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/jun/20/building_collapse_one_biggest_dangers/ > [11May 2008] 3. Borgatti, S. (1997) Research Glossary [online] available from < http://www.analytictech.com/mb313/glossary.htm> [11 May 2007] 4. BRE (2008) Human behaviour in fire and emergency evacuation design [online] available from < http://www.bre.co.uk/fire/page.jsp?id=269 > [11May 2008] 5. Berkeley University (2008) Building Emergency Plan [online] available from < http://bepevans.berkeley.edu/Evans_BEP2.html > [11May 2008] 6. Dunn, V. (2003) Newsletter [online] available from < http://vincentdunn.com/dunn/newsletters/jan-feb-mar-2003/FDNYHP_21.htm pdf > [11May 2008] 7. Federal Emergency Management Agency (1993) House and Building Fires [online] available from < http://www.scemd.org/Library/DisasterMitigation/Fire/HousBldgFirFS.pdf > [11May 2008] 8. Mahoney, C. (1997) Part II. Overview of Qualitative Methods and Analytic Techniques [online] available from < http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/REC/pubs/NSF97-153/CHAP_3.HTM > [11 May 2008] 9. Marion,R. (2004) Ethics in Research[online] available from < http://sahs.utmb.edu/pellinore/intro_to_research/wad/ethics.htm > [11 May 2008] 10. Proulx, G. and Pineau, J. (1996) Review of Evacuation Strategies for Occupants with Disabilities [online] available from < http://irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/pubs/fulltext/ir712/ir712.pdf > [11May 2008] 11. The Free Dictionary (2008) Evacuation [online] available from < http://www.thefreedictionary.com/evacuation > [11May 2008] 12. University of Washington “n.d.” Finding Measurement Tools [online] available from < http://healthlinks.washington.edu/howto/measurement/glossary/ > [11 May 2008] Read More