Multi-scale analysis of fire and evacuation drill in a multi-functional university high-rise building

Abstract

Fire evacuation drills are crucial for familiarizing occupants with building layouts and evacuation procedures. However, organizing a large drill in an educational site is rare due to the cost effort and data limitations. This paper examines a fire drill in a multi-functional university building in Hong Kong with over 800 participants. While capturing every participant's evacuation process was challenging, key location recordings allowed for a detailed analysis of corridors, staircases, and exits. The analysis revealed that nearly 50% of participants delayed responding to fire alarms, with some remaining in their rooms for over four minutes. Furthermore, exits experienced imbalanced utilization rates, and one was over 200% of design capacity, revealing occupants' preference for familiar routes. Additionally, it highlights the importance of fire drills and discusses future roadmap combining advanced techniques. Overall, this study offers valuable data on human behavior during emergencies, supporting the calibration and validation of evacuation models.