Fault tree analysis for subway fire evacuation with agent-based modeling

Abstract

In the process of the continuous development of subway construction, the safe evacuation of subway passengers has been paid much attention to. As the subway itself has the characteristics of limited space and high passenger density, once a fire emergency occurs, it can cause huge losses only by passive rescue. Therefore, it is important to actively plan for evacuation to reduce life and property losses due to fires in subways. This study aims to develop a fault tree analysis method for identifying scenarios that lead to evacuation failure in subways due to impassability incurred by fires. First, a virtual evacuation model is established using an agent modeling technique, with collected passenger characteristics to calibrate local evacuation behaviors. Then, fire impassability scenarios (e.g. fire(s) in the escalator(s), in emergency stairs, or the combination) are evaluated using the established agent model. Eventually, a fault tree analysis is constructed to identify scenarios that lead to evacuation failures. The research results show that the passability of escalator(s) is critical for subway fire resilience. It is important to use stationary escalator(s) as evacuation pathways for more evacuation capacity. Fire risk management around escalator(s) should be stricter. Passengers and staff are advised to learn how to stop a running escalator to avoid evacuation failures.