A personal perspective on research, consulting and codes/standards development in fire-related human behaviour, 1969–1999, with an emphasis on space and time factors
✍ Scribed by Jake Pauls
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1999
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 110 KB
- Volume
- 23
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0308-0501
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Four phases of work in the 5re-related human behaviour 5eld are described. Falling into the 5rst phase was the author:s early research into human behaviour in 5re (which was most well known for its focus on evacuation); it began several years before the 5rst international meetings were held in the USA and Britain on 5res and human behaviour. Later, when research funding in this 5eld was almost eliminated, work was performed in a private-sector consulting capacity in the USA. Here insights were applied from earlier research as well as being drawn from speci5c fatal 5re investigations performed to assist with litigation. Two case studies from such litigation after apartment building 5res are described; one in a high-rise building, the other in a low-rise building. A continuing theme in this history of nearly three decades of personal professional interest in 5re-related human behaviour is the importance of documenting = at a minimum = the spatial and temporal aspects of human behaviour in 5re incidents and related egress activity. Such descriptive information on space and time factors is a key to understanding eventually why certain behaviour occurs and how it can be more safely accommodated in building regulation, management and design, including performancebased design.