Aspects of Human Behavior That Impact on the Cause and Outcome of Fire - Assignment Example

ASPECTS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR THAT IMPACT ON THE CAUSE AND OUTCOME OF FIRE NAME : NUMBER : LECTURER : DATE : INTRODUCTION By traditional prerequisites and fire management policies, the safety of buildings from fire is governed by the prescriptive legislations and regulations provided by the relevant authorities that specify the standards for the layout design of escape routes, fire resistance materials , structural designs of buildings and other engineering aspects. However, research has shown that these precaution measures assume that all the occupants of the structure under investigation could be controlled as expected under fire without the consideration of the effects of individual behavior of the occupants of the structure. The initiation and development and consequences of many fires are either directly or indirectly related to the actions or omissions of the individual residents that are associated with the fire incident. This paper shall discuss the relevant aspects of human behavior and characteristics which may impact the cause and outcome of a fire and are therefore relevant to the fire investigation. HUMAN RESPONSES TO FIRE Research has shown that every human being behave differently during a fire incident. It has been observed that there are a wide array of factors that may affect the behavior of a person, either as an individual or in a group setting, before, during and after a fire incident. These factors can be majorly classified and evaluated as either: the characteristic of the individual the characteristic of the population groups the characteristics of the physical setting characteristic of the fire explosion itself (A) THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE INDIVIDUAL PERSON It has been observed that fire related human behavior is influenced by the character of the person in diverse ways. These characteristics include the physiological factors that includes : i. The individual person physical limitations ii. Cognitive comprehension limitation of the individual iii. Knowledge of the physical setting All of these characteristics can affect the individual person’s ability to recognize and accurately evaluate the hazards that are presents by the fire , the explosion incident or by an individual’s ability to respond correctly to these dangers. a) The individual person physical limitations An individual’s ability to recognize and respond as in a proper format to fire, or the hazards presented by the fire, can be affected by physical limitations including Age. The person’s age may affect his/her reaction to the fire incident. For example, young children may not know how to call for help, prevent the spread of fire, or escape, and may simply remain mortified by the fire. Very old people on the other hand may not get proper access in a timely manner to fire control equipment’s or maybe unable to use them, especially if they are heavy or are located far off. Physical disabilities. A physically challenged individual may not be able to respond to the fire appropriately such as managing it as it starts, especially if the person is on a wheelchair, is deaf, of is blind. Intoxication. An intoxicated , drunk or person using drugs may start fire through erratic behavior, and may not be able to call for help or control the fire due to intoxication Incapacitating or limiting injuries or medical conditions. These conditions may affect a person’s mobility in the event of fire, and therefore affecting the control of the spreading of fire. All the above conditions and other situations that may hinder an individual’s mobility should be considered when evaluating the individual persons fire-related human behavior, as they tend to limit the person’s ability to take the necessary action in response to fire . b) Cognitive comprehension limitation of the individual. A person’s age, level of rest, use of alcohol and drugs, developmental disabilities, mental illnesses and inhalation of smoke and toxic gasses may all affect an individual person’s reaction to the presence of fire. All the above factors may hinder the person from assessing the risk presented by the fire, and may cause delay of the appropriate measures to be taken for control of fire. for example, a child may not know how to react to fire and may hide , cry or search for their parents, all of which will delay the response to fire of which may make the fire spread wide before it is put under control c) Knowledge of the physical setting of a given place. The person’s familiarity of the physical setting of a given place that a fire incident has occurred may affect that person’s response to the fire, such as knowledge of fire suppression equipment, escape routes, among others. (B) THE CHARACTERISTIC OF GROUPS When many people interact, their individual behavior usually gets influenced by the whole group behavior, such as seen in crowds and mobs. When interacting with various people and individual’s characteristic behavior most likely is influenced and affect the behavior of others in the group setting. Various studies that were carried out to improve the safety in places of public assembly showed that even for well-designed facilities, it was realized that real danger lies within the crowd. It was observed that in crowded environments, most victims were killed on injured by the behaviors of the groups/crowds rather than the actual cause (such as fire or explosion) (Chertkoff J. Kushigian R., 1999). For example, in Iroquois Theatre fire of 1903, the initial fire was brought under control very quickly, but never the less, due to the behavior of groups, 602 people were trampled to death in the end. Again in the English FA Cup in 1981, there were no real caused of emergency, but still, 95 people were killed and over 400 injured in the stampede. Crowds usually display nonadaptive behaviors during and in the presence of danger or emergency situations such as pushing, knocking, and trampling on others, among others (Chertkoff J. Kushigian R., 1999).. In the study of crowd dynamics, it has been noted that people who come together to a gathering tend to move in concert with each other, orient their actions to each other and leave together. They tend to dissolve their identities, motivations and rationales into a collective mind (DurkHeim E, 1995) Among the group characteristics that may affect behavior includes the Group size Group structure Group permanence The roles and norms of the group a) Group size. Research has shown that when a person is in a group, they are unlikely to acknowledge or respond as desired to the presence of fire incidents. It has been noted that this tendencies often increase proportionally to the group size. It has been notes that individuals mat delay acknowledging the presence of fire until others in the group acknowledge it and respond to it. b) The group structure. Research has shown that a person’s response to fire is affected by the group structure that the person is presently, for example, people in formalized structures with well-defined and recognized leaders or authorities will react faster to fire incidents as compared to people in informal structures. This has been noted to be caused by the person’s sense of responsibility for the whole group if the person is in a more formal group setting c) The group permanence. This refers to the period of establishment of the group, or how well the individual members of the group have interacted with each other. It has been observed that individuals in more established groups eg families and clubs are more formal and structured, will react differently than in new formed groups. This has been observed to be caused by the fact that the people in newer groups are more likely to react in their own unique ways that may conflict with each other. d) Group roles and norms. The gender, social class and occupation and the education of the members of a group may affect the group’s behavior during fire incidents. Research has shown that these individuals may respond to fire in diverse ways, for example, certain categories of people may prefer to report the occurrence of fire, where others may prefer suppressing it before reporting it. (C) THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE PHYSICAL SETTING The physical setting of a particular place may affect the occurrence and spread of fire. The physical setup of a particular place also of effect influences the behavior of the residents of that place in the occurrence of fire. People in groups display non-adaptive behaviors that are triggered by the presence of threat or danger such as fires. engineers often focus on designing structures that automatically ensure the safety of the individuals. Among the physical attributes of a particular place that may affect the behavior of its occupants includes: The location of exits within the structure The number of exit the structure height Fire warning systems Fire suppression systems a) The location of exits in the structure. The physical location of the exits in a structure may affect how individuals respond to the occurrence of fire in the structure, for example, if the occupants do not know the location of the exits, anxiety may occur, therefore resulting in diverse actions such as fighting for escape, stampedes, etc b) The number of exits. It has been noted that the number of exits may affect the behavior of persons in a structure on fire. for example, inadequate number of exits, restricted exits, or unprotected exits etc may results to exposing the occupants to fire, or rushing for exits that may cause stampedes, or jumping from buildings resulting on more injuries from trying to escape than from fire itself c) Structure’s height. The height of a particular building can affect the behavior of individuals in the building is on fire, for example, panic attacks, jumping off the building, fighting for exits etc d) Fire warning system. These are among the most critical fire safety mechanisms that detect and inform the occupants of a particular structure on the presence of fire. Defective alarm system in buildings may influence the reaction of fire by the occupants, such as failure to realize that the structure is on fire that could have resulted in the occupants suppressing the fire at the earliest opportunity. e) Fire suppression systems. The individual’s behavior during fire incidents has been observed to be affected by the presence of a known fire suppression system installed in the structure. This can positively affect the individuals by creating a sense of security therefore giving them time to escape or fight the fire, or negatively through reducing visibility caused by the discharge of the fire suppression agent. (D) THE CHARACTERISTIC OF FIRE The threat of fire or explosion has been observed to affect the behavior of individuals and groups that are located near the fire or hazard material. The behavior of the fire itself will likely shape the perception that the individuals have on the fire, therefore influencing their behavior. Among the characteristics of fire that may influence the individuals includes: The presence of smoke ,Flames , toxic gasses Oxygen depletion. a) The presence of smoke: smoke affects the behavior of individuals in a fire. for example, many individuals with little or no knowledge of the aerodynamics and behavior of fire may perceive black, dense smoke as a threat to their health, while light, gray smoke as less dangerous. b) The presence of flames. The presence of visible flames greatly affects the behavior of individuals. This may make the individuals be aware of the presence of fire, thus resulting in a diverse course of actions basing on their belief c) Toxic gasses and oxygen depletion. Fires usually are accompanied by smoke, of which can be inhaled by the people in the structure. The fire also may consume oxygen within the structure. These toxic gasses, in combination with less oxygen, may affect the behavior of individuals in the fire, for example, delayed response to the fire, loss of strength and general body weakness due to low oxygen levels, mental acuity, and perceptual abilities. BIBLIOGRAPHY Chertkoff J. Kushigian R. Don’t Panick: the Psychology of Emergency Egress and Ingress. Praeger, London, 1999 Close k. R. . Fire behavior vs Human Behavior: Why the lessons from the Cramer Matter. eight International Wildland Fire Safety Summit, April 26-28, 2005. Missoula Durkheim E. Elementary Forms of the Religious life. Free Press, New Yolk, 1995 Fahy, R F. ProulxG. ‘Panic’ and human Behavior in fire. Cambridge, UK. 2009 Gonzales, L. Deep Survival – Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why. W. W. Norton and Company, Inc.. 2005. Pp 301 The SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engi- neering, Maryland.1997 Weick, K.E. and K. M. Sutcliffe . Managing the Unexpected – Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity. Jossey-Bass. 2001 . Read More