Fire Safety Literacy of Personnel in High-Rise Buildings: A Survey Study

Abstract

Over recent decades, the number of high-rise building fires has increased rapidly with urbanization. However, few studies have been conducted from the perspective of fire safety awareness among residents in high-rise buildings. This study investigated the fire safety literacy of people in high-rise buildings. High-rise buildings are an important part of the urban environment, and fires can cause environmental pollution. In this work, online and on-site questionnaire surveys were combined to investigate residents’ evacuation preparation, firefighting skills, and knowledge about firefighting equipment. A total of 3000 questionnaires were collected, of which 2026 were validated. The survey results showed that 27.79% of residents were unaware of the location of evacuation staircases, 55.43% were not aware of the location of refuge floors in super high-rise buildings, and 41.20% were not aware that fire doors should be in a normally closed state. The main findings of this investigation indicate that the fire safety knowledge of residents in high-rise buildings is gravely deficient. Therefore, it is recommended that fire safety awareness campaigns be enhanced in both school education and community activities, and residents in high-rise buildings should be organized to participate in regular fire drills.