Lessons from the evacuation of the world trade centre, 9/11 2001 for the development of computer-based simulations |
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Authors: | CW Johnson |
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Affiliation: | (1) Glasgow Accident Analysis Group, Department of Computing Science, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ Glasgow, UK |
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Abstract: | This paper reviews the state-of-the-art in evacuation simulations. These interactive computer based tools have been developed
to help the owners and designers of large public buildings to assess the risks that occupants might face during emergency
egress. The development of the Glasgow Evacuation Simulator is used to illustrate the existing generation of tools. This system
uses Monte Carlo techniques to control individual and group movements during an evacuation. The end-user can interactively
open and block emergency exits at any point. It is also possible to alter the priorities that individuals associate with particular
exit routes. A final benefit is that the tool can derive evacuation simulations directly from existing architects, models;
this reduces the cost of simulations and creates a more prominent role for these tools in the iterative development of large-scale
public buildings. Empirical studies have been used to validate the GES system as a tool to support evacuation training. The
development of these tools has been informed by numerous human factors studies and by recent accident investigations. For
example the 2003 fire in the Station nightclub in Rhode Island illustrated the way in which most building occupants retrace
their steps to an entrance even when there are alternate fire exits. The second half of the paper uses this introduction to
criticise the existing state-of-the-art in evacuation simulations. These criticisms are based on a detailed study of the recent
findings from the 9/11 Commission (2004). Ten different lessons are identified. Some relate to the need to better understand the role of building management and
security systems in controlling egress from public buildings. Others relate to the human factors involved in coordinating
distributed groups of emergency personnel who may be physically exhausted by the demands of an evacuation. Arguably, the most
important findings centre on the need to model the ingress and egress of emergency personnel from these structures. The previous
focus of nearly all-existing simulation tools has been on the evacuation of building occupants rather than on the safety of
first responders.
Thanks are due to J. Appleby, P. Cooper, A. Foss, S. Hailey and B. Jenks who were responsible for the design and implementation
of the GES application. They also drove the development of the Boyd Orr evacuation scenarios that are used to illustrate the
opening sections of this paper. |
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Keywords: | Accident analysis Evacuation Simulation Human factors |
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