Fire Investigations and Human Behaviour in Fire - Coursework Example

Fire Investigations and Human Behaviour in Fire Insert Name Tutor Date Introduction Causes, initiation, development and consequences of fire outbreaks and explosions are results of human actions and their behavior at the incident scene. Human behavior before, during and after a fire or an explosion incident is determined by the characteristics of particular individuals, the groups, the physical setting and also the characteristics of the fire itself. The actions that people take during the fire incident are also influenced by individual perception of the prompts or the indication, their interpretation of the situation and the associated risks based on the prompts and the decisions that they make regarding the incident. Various deaths in fire incidents are usually attributed to human behavior which also determines the outcome of evacuation plans. The NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations outlines how individual and group factors such as physical limitation, cognitive comprehension limitation, group structure and group performance may affect human behavior in fire (NFPA 92, 2008). This paper looks at a case where human behavior has had an impact on the outcome of evacuation. Summerland Leisure Centre fire incident Description of the incident The fire incident at Summerland leisure center happened on the night of 2nd August 1973 where 50 people died and 80 others were seriously injured. The center had been in operation since 25th May 1971 and was on a climate-controlled building located on a 3.5 acres piece of land in Ile of Mann. The center was designed to accommodate up to 10,000 guests and had a dancing area, five floors, public bars and a restaurant. The building was well constructed with plastic materials and transparent acrylic glass sheets for the roof (Wilson-Dickson, 1974). The main source of the fire that happened was a result of boys who were smoking in an abandoned kiosk which was adjacent to a small golf course that was part of the Summerland leisure center building. The kiosk burned and collapsed falling on the exterior of Summerland building the part which was built with Galbestos material. The inside was coated with bitumen, a material that has limited fire resistance qualities. The fire easily spread to the interior which was covered with sound proof material that also did not have fire resistance qualities. This led to a large explosion which covered the highly flammable acrylic sheets that had covered all the other parts of the building. The melting of the burning acrylic allowed in more oxygen and this spread it further injuring people as they tried to escape (Wilson-Dickson, 1974). At the time of the incident, there were 3,000 people in the building. Fire services were called after thirty minutes by a captain of a ship that was located 3.2 kilo meters away. Basically there were no attempts to evacuate the people and there was a lot of panic as they struggled for exits. The fire doors of the building were locked and therefore many people were crushed and trampled as they struggled at the main entrance. 93 out of 106 fire fighters in Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service came to the rescue. The incident left 50 people dead and several others injured (Wilson-Dickson, 1974). Human factors on Summerland Leisure Center Fire Incident Various human factors that are pointed out in the NFPA 921 fire investigation guidelines were observed in the Summerland Leisure Center fire incident. These include individual factors such as familiarity with the physical setting and physical limitations, group factors such as group structure and characteristics of the physical setting (NFPA 921, 2008). Regarding familiarity with the physical setting, most people got confused as they looked for their way out. This confusion was due to the fact that fire exits were locked and the only exit as the main entrance. This was not known to many people and they ended up trampling on each other as they struggled for a single exit. Many people lost their way as a result of the dense black smoke which overcame them. Parents who had been relaxing on the upper terraces away from their children who were playing in the lower-level skating rinks were separated and this brought more confusion as they started tracking them. There were a number of families among the 3000 people who were present during the incident. According to Turner & Toft (1989), individuals focused their actions on family group membership. Therefore during the escape, instead of those who were parents escaping immediately, they were busy looking for their children and this caused more confusion and panic (Turner & Toft, 1989). Physical limitation was caused by the toxic black smoke that engulfed the inside of the building overcoming them (Phillips, 2009). This limited the ability of the people to find escape routes quickly. Age of the children who were separated from their parents was also another physical limitation and this also affected their parents in that they had to start by trying to find their young children before they could escape. This could have been easy for the parents if they were grown up children who could have easily escaped on their own. Individual cognitive comprehension limitation is another individual factor that can be attributed to the outcome of fire in Summerland incident. This was seen in the action of the 19 year old operator who was in the control room. When the fire started, the operator was not bothered because according to him, it appeared that it was in the outside of the building and she has not received any fire alarm on her panel. Even after the first public alarm glass had been smashed, she still had not received any indicator in the control room. This was suggestion that the alarm system was already collapsed because the fire was burning through the wiring on the wall. Therefore could he have noticed this earlier, she could have raised an alarm and people could have had enough time to escape to the outside (Phillips, 2009) Group characteristics also played a role in people’s behavior during this incident. The fact that Summerland Leisure Center is a social joint where people meet to relax and enjoy foods, drinks and dances, these activities are mainly done in groups. For example a group of people was on the dancing floor, a group of children were playing as their parents were relaxing and a group of boys who were smoking in the nearby kiosk. The death of some parents who instead of escaping immediately they started looking for their children who were playing in a different location is a characteristic of group structure. The family association in this case influenced the actions of the parents who could not leave their children behind. Human behavior is evident from the initiation of the fire, its development and its overall impact. The fire was caused by a group of boys who were smoking in the nearby kiosk. According to NFPA 921 fire investigation guidelines, the initiation of many fires is a result of action or omissions of people at the incident scene. Basically, this was an omission in the behavior of the smoking boys. However, due to their cognitive comprehension limitation and unfamiliarity with the physical setting, it was not known to them how highly flammable the materials of the nearby building were. The group structure of these boys is also a factor that led to the initiation of the fire because one of their common structural characteristic was that it was a group of smokers. Characteristics of the physical setting also played a great role on the development of the fire and its overall impact. According to NFPA 921 fire investigation guidelines, the characteristics of the physical setting in which the fire occurs affect its development and its spread. In the case of Summerland incident, some of the characteristics of the physical setting that affected the development and spread of the fire include the number of exits, fire warning systems and the building materials. The building did not have sufficient exits and several of them were locked except two main entrance doors and one fire exit door. Therefore people’s struggle through the limited exits added to the number of casualties because more exits could have made escape to be easier. The fire alarm systems in the building also failed because the fire started from the outside and had already destroyed their wiring before the inside started burning. They therefore did not send the alarm to the operator (Phillips, 2009). The materials that constructed the building contributed greatly to the development of the fire. According to the Summerland Fire Commission report, the combination of Galbestos and Decalin that were used during the construction of the building contributed to the development and spread of the fire. The inner wall of the building was made of a plastic-coated board known as Decalin which is combustible. Therefore when the fire set on the Galbestos wall and penetrated the inside, it ignited the inner Decalin wall thus spreading easily into the building. Destruction of the walls made it easier for oxygen to pass through and this led to continued development of the fire. Therefore the physical setting of Summerland building made the fire to have a greater impact than could have happened if t had been checked earlier. All these factors are however part of human behavior from the construction of the building to locking the fire exits (Government Office, 1974). Characteristics of the fire such as presence of dark smoke also affected human behavior in this incident. The inside of the building was filled with smoke and this made it difficult for people to find escape routes therefore leading to several of them being trapped in the building. Other case examples Others cases where human behavior has played part in the overall impact of the fire include Beverly Hills Supper Club Southgate, Kentucky which occurred on 28th May 1977 leading to death of 165 people and 200 others seriously injured. Some of the characteristics of human behavior that were pointed out during investigation include overcrowding where a room that used to hold utmost 756 people was occupied by 925 people on the fateful night. Inadequate fire exits where a building that according to Kentruckly law was supposed to have 27.5 exits had only 16.5 and some could not be easily reached. Others include faulty wiring, and lack of fire walls and these played a part in the overall impact of that fire (Swartz, 1979). Other researchers on human behavior during fire incident have identified similar characteristics. For example Kelley, Dahlke & Hill (1965) looking at group behavior during fire concluded that when people are in a group, they take cues from each other and this had two impacts; if they are less optimistic about escaping, their interaction may be harmful and when there is high level of optimism, this may be reinforced by the group interaction. They further determined that when people express confidence, anxiety is reduced and this increases the percentage of people who can manage to escape (Kelley, Dahlke & Hill, 1965). Conclusion Human behavior in fire has been found to have an impact on the initiation, development, spread and on the overall impact of the fire. From the analysis of the Summerland Leisure Center fire incident, it is evident that group behavior of humans was associated with the initiation of the fire, and the same group behavior resulted in a number of casualties especially because of the parents who could not escape without their children. Other factors associated with human behavior were found on the physical settings of the building in that it lacked adequate exits and was constructed with flammable materials. The physical setting contributed to the development of the fire and also the casualties because escape was difficult for the people. Other cases have also shown the effect of human behavior in fire and various researchers have also looked at how human behavior ads on to the overall impact of fire. It is therefore important for fire investigators to consider these factors as stated in the NFPA 921 guide for fire and explosion investigations. Bibliography NFPA 921, 2008, Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA. Kelley, H., Dahlke, C., & Hill, A., 1965, Collective behavior in a simulated panic situation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, vol 1(1):20-54. Turner, B., & Toft, B., 1989, Fire at Summerland leisure centre. In: Rosenthal, U., Charles, M., Hart, P., eds., Coping with crises: the management of disasters, riots and terrorism, Springfield, IL: Charles Thomas, p. 177. Swartz, J., 1979, "Human Behavior in the Beverly Hills Fire," Fire Journal, vol 73(3) p. 73. Government Office, (1974), Report of the Summerland Fire Commission, Government Office, Douglas, Isle of Man. Wilson-Dickson, 1974, The Summerland Fire and Inquiry, Fire Engineers Journal, 34 (96), 8-14. Phillips, I., 2009, Summary - ‘From 21st century leisure to 20th century holiday catastrophe: the Isle of Man Summerland fire disaster’, retrieved on 18th January 2013 from http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-les/gees/staff/phillips-book-summary.pdf Read More