Question 2: Bias Towards Familiar Egress Routes and Implications for the Fire Alarms
This second question builds off of Question 1this week. Keep in mind that people show a strong bias toward using familiar egress routes. What are the implications for a fire alarm system? Would you want the fire alarm system to operate differently for different parts of the building? If there was a day care facility within this building that helped serve those individuals that worked in the building, what problems would you expect? Would you expect parents to try to reach the day care center before evacuating the building? What recommendation would you make to encourage parents not to travel to the day care center?
Students Answer/
Student 1:
Yes, I would want the fire alarm to operate differently for a high-rise building by providing a phased evacuation (Notify floor of origin, the floor above, the floor below)
If there is a daycare in the building, there are many issues. One example, there is usually one teacher to about eight toddlers, so trying to get eight toddlers downstairs by yourself with other adults trying to go down the stairs will be a failure. Another example is the issues with the handrails and steps that are in a stairwell.
Yes, I would expect parents to try to reach the daycare before evacuating a building. As a parent, it will be difficult to stop me or, better yet, my wife from getting my kids if we know there is a fire in a high-rise building. The recommendation is to make sure each parent knows the evacuation process for the daycare, and if they impede it will slow the evacuation down.
I want to add additional content about the daycare in a high-rise building. I think it is essential when or if the design is created for the building; the daycare should be placed closest to the ground level. Also, it would be ideal for the daycare to have its own elevator or stairwell to exit. If that is not possible, at minimum, the area or zone will need to be fully sprinklered and to be designed as a transitional refuge area. Finally, the daycare staff needs to be notified soon as an event happens so that staff can start their fire evacuation plan.
Student 2:
This is one difficult situation to work, the people noramally wait to go out, think what it go to happend if they have a kid inside the building. The implication fortheis alamr,are that need to be something really loud and anoying, something that make the people want to go out. Also, add coice direction dirrecting to the emergency doors. In the day care, I think that it need to be a bit quiet, I willl want to just let know to the teachers or the adults in the day care, I wil prefer have the kids in oreder, instead take a couple of more seconds. The systems need to operate different because every profile from the biulding will reacyt diffeent to the alarm.In the day care I would expect the teacher getting out with all the children,and the hall crwod try to pass. To solve this I would have a special route for the kids. Yes, I wuold expect the parents at some point reach for the kids, this can be a problem if the need to go in opposite directions in relation of the crowd. I will recomend give to the parents the hall plan of during a evacuation, detail per detail. WIth this I looking to let them know where the go to be after the evacuation.
Student 3:
With people attempting to use familiar egress routes this would affect the alarm system by using phased evacuation by attempting to egress the ones in most severe danger to prevent a bottle neck of occupants. For the day care system I would ensure that all workers are fully aware of the evacuation procedures as well as a designated safe rally point for all children. I would also make sure that all parents that utilize the day care are clearly made aware of the dayscares evacuation procedures as well as the rally point where they can locate children instead of attempting to make access to children through the building.
Student 4:
People are in fact creatures of comfort and like water will follow the path of least resistance. On a floor in a building with multiple uses such as a large assembly and a daycare, the fire alarm system would in fact notify everyone. In an assembly, large crowds of people will naturally assimilate and head to the same entrance / exit in which they arrived at the space. Best case, they may head to the closest exit by following the person in the front of them. In a daycare on the same floor, some children depending on their age may get excited or become frantic from the sound of the fire alarm system. They will be swept up by the teachers or aides in the classroom and then all will exit the building according to and as they were instructed. Once outside, an accountability system will take effect and the teachers and aides will account for all the children before notifies are made to parents if the event kept all occupants out of the building for an extended period of time.
Student 5:
First off, people that are not familiar with buildings will tend to use the same way they came in . That being said when a fire alarm goes off, people will converge to the entrance with the highest density. Using voice communication systems in the parts of the building can help with evacuation when children are involved in a daycare facility. Parents will inherently want to ensure their children’s safety in the event of a fire. For this reason parents will try to make access to their children but a well-planned evacuation system where the parents can meet in a safe haven should be used. This gives a chance for the daycare facility to operate with known plans and accountability, plus reduce that panic of parents showing up and grabbing kids without anyone noticing. Parents and daycare officials can meet in a safe haven area and start a process for an orderly pick up. These evacuation procedures like I say in all of my posts “ should be trained on and reevaluated”. Fire drills are not just for kids.
Student 6:
In terms of the day care center, i would try and make room for it to be on the first floor so that it is easier for the employees of the day care to evacuate the children. In terms of making sure that the parents dont go to the day care before exiting i belive that there should be two seperate entrances so that you have to go outside to get to the day care’s entrance. This would make sure that people exit first and that the day care employees can focus on getting the kids out instead of worrying about the parents coming back in and possibly getting in the way.