Causes of Fire Outbreak in at the Station Night Club Fire in Rhode Island - Essay Example

The way to exit had been blocked which left the people helpless and trapped inside the club while the fire burnt around 100 people alive. A similar disaster that had different causes of fire outbreak was the one that happened in March 2012 in a nightclub in Novi Sad, the Northern Serbian City. The cause of the fire outbreak was an electrical fault (omoakala.blogspot.com, 2012).
The Myth of Panic vs Reality
The myth of panic during fires means that in the incident of a fire breakout, people get into panic and make their utmost effort to escape and save their own lives irrespective of others. Such behavior is identified as a myth because this is not what normally happens during a disaster. There is a great deal of difference between the myth of panic and the actual behavior of people observed during the incident of a fire outbreak. In reality, people tend to help as many people as they can even if they have to put their own lives in danger for that. People help others around them before helping themselves. This behavior has been commonly observed during disasters. For example, during the 9/11 attack, people not only helped their friends and relatives escape but also strangers (White, 2003).
Decision-making during Fire Outbreak
In the event of a fire outbreak, occupants’ decision making is influenced by a whole range of factors including commitment, familiarity, role and responsibility, and social. The occupants cannot think of leaving people they are familiar with behind in trouble. They feel an intrinsic sense of commitment and moral obligation to God as well as other people to help the people. It seems just too out of place and selfish to just take care of one’s own life and forget one’s role and responsibilities toward others. Man is known to be a social animal. Likewise, the occupants’ decision making during a fire outbreak is affected by their social networks and links.
Effects of Occupants’ Characteristics on their Behavior
Occupants’ individualistic traits like their age, gender, physical and mental capabilities play a fundamental role in the level of help they can extend to others during a fire outbreak. Certain occupants like children, women and old men indeed need others’ help to escape since they cannot even help themselves whereas other occupants like young men are more physically capable of helping themselves as well as helping others.