Search

Vulnerable groups are found to be over-represented in fire fatalities statistics. In official Norwegian documents vulnerability is described as related to factors such as old age, reduced mobility or cognitive abilities, mental health problems, and substance abuse. As vulnerability to fatal fire is frequently related to residents’ health and life situations, prevention work often exceeds the competencies and responsibilities of the fire department. Cross-sector collaboration is therefore required in order to reach the groups that are at risk. This paper reports from a qualitative interview study with representatives from municipal fire services, property management, housing administration, health and social care. The study explores the challenges experienced by service providers in achieving cross-sector collaboration on fire prevention for vulnerable groups. The findings describe challenges at three levels: 1) the national regulatory level represents an obstacle to local cross-sector collaboration, 2) the municipal level lacks strategies and arenas for cross-sector collaboration for fire safety, and 3) the professional level experiences conflicting values and norms, including uncertainties about professional boundaries. Organizational measures that support the fire services in their efforts to reach vulnerable groups must be targeted to all three levels and go beyond the boundaries of the fire services. The study contributes with a social scientific approach to fire prevention and contributes with new perspectives on fire safety for vulnerable residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children are a vulnerable group in society and less is known about their characteristics during evacuation than that of adults. This may lead to fire safety design of child centric buildings that fail to account for or acknowledge accurately the characteristics of children. Previous studies have indicated a distinction between adults and children in response to fire cues, however, the existing child specific literature lacks the depth required to provide certainty in design assumptions. This paper focuses on the human behaviour of children during evacuation. The key aim is to contribute to the limited existing data on the pedestrian dynamics and behavioural actions of children during an evacuation. Data from twelve full scale evacuations of four primary schools (educating children aged 4–12) is analysed. As might be expected, longer pre-evacuation times were obtained for classes accommodating younger children. A reduction in pre- evacuation times was observed through repetition of evacuation drills. The movement characteristics of children on the horizontal plane and on stairways were found to be influenced by age, and variances in travel speeds within each class group were observed. On stairways children in the lower classes moved slower and were more cautious than older children. Interestingly, it was more common for groups to be led by a pupil, resulting in faster movement speeds than those led by an adult. Observations and analysis are further discussed along with directions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Predtechenskii and Milinskii''s seminal work [Predtechenskii VM, Milinskii AI. Planning for foot traffic flow in buildings. Revised and updated edition. Moscow: Stoiizdat; 1969] in relation to pedestrian flows is well known. However, analysis of the experimental results and observations obtained from this series of experimental studies revealed the inherent statistical non-homogeneity of pedestrian flow speeds [Kholshevnikov VV. The study of human flows and methodology of evacuation standardisation. Moscow: MIFS; 1999]. As such, the results of these individual experiments cannot be integrated to produce a valid general expression V=f(D) for each type of pedestrian flow path, where V is the flow velocity and D is the flow density. This paper presents further pedestrian flow research conducted in Russia post 1969. In this paper pedestrian flow is treated as a stochastic process, i.e., that which might be observed in a series of experiments as a manifestation of the random function V=f(D). A fundamentally new random methodology to mathematically describe this function is presented. Corresponding computer simulation models “Analysis of Foot Traffic Flow Probability” (known by the Russian acronym ADLPV) [Kholshevnikov VV. Human flows in buildings, structures and on their adjoining territories. Doctor of science thesis. Moscow: MISI; 1983; Kholshevnikov VV, Nikonov SA, Levin YP. Human flows modelling and computations. In: The study of architecture design issues. Tomsk: TGU; 1983; Kholschevnikov VV, Nikonov SA, Shamgunov RN. Modelling and analysis of motion of foot traffic flows in buildings of different usage. Moscow Civil Engineering Institute; 1986; Kholshevnikov VV, Nikonov SA, Shamgunov RN. Modelling and analysis of pedestrian of pedestrian flow movement in various facilities. CIB W14/87/41987; Bradley D, Drysdale D, Molkov V, editors. Retrospective review of research on pedestrian flows modelling in Russia and perspectives for its development. In: Proceedings of the fourth international seminar “fire and explosion hazards”, Londonderry, UK, 8–12 September 2003. p. 907–16; Nikonov SA. A development of an arrangements concerning fire evacuation in public buildings on the basic of foot traffic flow modelling. PhD thesis, (Supervisor V.V. Kholshevnikov). Moscow: HFSETS; 1985; Isaevich II. A development of multi-variative analysis of design solution for subway stations and transfer knots based on foot traffic flow modelling. PhD thesis, (Supervisor V.V. Kholshevnikov). Moscow: MISI; 1990] and “Free Foot Traffic Flow” (known by the Russian acronym SDLP) [Kholshevnikov VV. Human flows in buildings, structures and on their adjoining territories. Doctor of science thesis. Moscow: MISI; 1983; Aibuev ZS-A. The formation of foot traffic flows on large industrial territories. PhD thesis, Moscow: Moscow Civil Engineering Institute; 1989; Nikonov SA. A development of an arrangements concerning fire evacuation in public buildings on the basic of foot traffic flow modelling. PhD thesis, (Supervisor V.V. Kholshevnikov). Moscow: HFSETS; 1985; Kholshevnikov VV, Shields TJ, Samoshyn DA. Foot traffic flows: background for modelling. Proceedings of the second international conference on pedestrian and evacuation dynamics, University of Greenwich, 2003, p. 420] are described. The high degree of correspondence between observed pedestrian flows and the output from these models has been sufficient for the models to be accepted by statutory authorities and used in building design and regulation in Russia [Building regulations. Fire safety of buildings and structures. SNiP II-2-80. Moscow: Stroizdat; 1981.; State Standard 12.1.0004—91 (GOST). Fire Safety. General requirements. Moscow, 1992; Building Regulations. Building accessibility for disabled people. SNiP 35-01-2000. Moscow: Stroizdat; 2000] for many years. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]