Evacuation Simulation and Human Behaviour Models in Tall Buildings

Abstract

In tall buildings, staircases are usually the only means for evacuation. It can take more than two hours for an occupant to reach a refuge floor by the stairs owing to congestion and long travel distance. In a non-fire situation, elevators also could be used in evacuation. Where there are several alternative transport devices available for egress, occupants need to decide winch one to use. This decision is based on the occupant's knowledge of the egress routes in the building. Evacuation models consider human behaviour mostly for horizontal movement and low buildings, without considering elevators as a means of egress. In this article, we describe vertical transportation and agent-based human behaviour models of the Building Traffic Simulator. The evacuation of the World Trade Centre is simulated and the results are compared with published data.