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Displaying 76 - 100 of 128

After the Alarm Sounds: How We Got Here, Where We Are, and Where We Should Go

April 1, 2011
Author(s)
Jason D. Averill, Erica D. Kuligowski, Richard D. Peacock
This article reviews the history of egress design and code requirements in the United States, describes the current state-of-the-art in egress design and modeling, and offers a strawman research agenda for future egress research.

A Review of Building Evacuation Models, 2nd Edition

November 1, 2010
Author(s)
Erica D. Kuligowski, Richard D. Peacock, Bryan L. Hoskins
Evacuation calculations are increasingly becoming a part of performance-based analyses to assess the level of life safety provided in buildings. In some cases, engineers are using back-of-the-envelope (hand) calculations to assess life safety, and in

Building Occupant Egress Data

August 27, 2010
Author(s)
Richard D. Peacock, Erica D. Kuligowski
Data on people movement on stairs were collected from 9 office and residential building evacuations in the United States. The buildings involved in this study range from 6 stories to 62 stories in height. The data were collected by positioning video

Representing Egress Behaviour in Engineering Terms

June 16, 2010
Author(s)
Steve M. Gwynne, Erica D. Kuligowski, Daniel Nilsson
When using engineering tools to calculate RSET, the engineer must have sufficient expertise to identify actual human factors that will influence the outcome of an evacuation in a particular situation. The engineer must then represent these factors in the

Occupant Behavior in a High-rise Office Building Fire

June 10, 2010
Author(s)
Erica D. Kuligowski, Bryan L. Hoskins
Survey responses from occupants involved in a 32-story high-rise building evacuation during an actual fire were collected and analyzed to study the pre-evacuation period. Multiple regression models were used to test whether specific occupant, building, and

Application Modes of Egress Simulation

February 1, 2010
Author(s)
Steve M. Gwynne, Erica D. Kuligowski
The evacuation process is influenced by historical events. These can reflect previous incidents, training, and the routine use of the structure. These need to be considered during the design process as they will influence occupant behavior. In addition

The Need for Behavioral Theory in Evacuation Modeling

February 1, 2010
Author(s)
Erica D. Kuligowski, Steve M. Gwynne
This paper posits the need for comprehensive theories about human behavior in fire evacuations. These would be of value in and of themselves to improve training, education, and future data collection efforts, but would also allow for a complete behavioral

The Human Side of Mass Notification

January 8, 2010
Author(s)
Erica D. Kuligowski
On February 19, 2009, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) held a Federal Workshop on Mass Notification Messages. Participants from 12 federal agencies attended to discuss issues surrounding warning the public, building occupants, and

Compilation of Data on the Sublethal Effects of Fire Effluent

August 28, 2009
Author(s)
Erica D. Kuligowski
The NRC is developing guidance for performing quantitative human reliability analysis for post-fire mitigative human actions modeled in a fire probability risk assessment. In some of the scenarios, operators are assumed to be exposed to the fire effluent

The Process of Human Behavior in Fires

July 13, 2009
Author(s)
Erica D. Kuligowski
Evacuation models, including engineering hand calculations and computational tools, are used to evaluate the level of safety provided by buildings during evacuation. However, there is a lack of available data and theory on occupant behavior for use by

Building Occupant Safety Research 2008

June 12, 2009
Author(s)
Richard D. Peacock, Jason D. Averill, Erica D. Kuligowski, Richard W. Bukowski
Historically, building egress systems have evolved in response to specific large loss incidents. Currently, systems are designed around a concept of providing stair capacity for the largest occupant load floor in the building with little or no

Stairwell Evacuation from Buildings: What We Know We Don't Know

June 12, 2009
Author(s)
Richard D. Peacock, Jason D. Averill, Erica D. Kuligowski
Occupant descent down stairwells during building evacuations is typically described by measureable engineering variables such as stairwell geometry, speed, density, and pre-evacuation delay. In turn, predictive models of building evacuation use these

The Process of Human Behavior in Fires

May 15, 2009
Author(s)
Erica D. Kuligowski
Evacuation models, including engineering hand calculations and computational tools, are used to evaluate the level of safety provided by buildings during evacuation. However, there is a lack of available data and theory on occupant behavior for use by

Mass Notification Messages: Workshop Proceedings

March 30, 2009
Author(s)
Erica D. Kuligowski, Richard D. Peacock, Jason D. Averill, Richard W. Bukowski
This workshop provided a forum to discuss research and best practices regarding mass notification message creation and dissemination. The goal of the workshop was to provide a forum where representatives from federal agencies could exchange ideas and

Questioning the Linear Relationship Between Doorway Width and Achievable Flow Rate

January 1, 2009
Author(s)
Steve M. Gwynne, Jessica Kratchman, Erica D. Kuligowski, James A. Milke
This paper suggests that the currently assumed linear relationship between exit width and achievable flow is a simplification that may lead to an overly optimistic view of the achievable flow rates. Analyzed data is presented from several sources in order

Stairwell Evacuation from Buildings: What We Know We Don't Know

January 1, 2009
Author(s)
Richard D. Peacock, Jason D. Averill, Erica D. Kuligowski
Occupant descent down stairwells during building evacuations is typically described by measurable engineering variables such as stairwell geometry, speed, density, and pre-evacuation delay. In turn, predictive models of building evacuation use these

Modeling Human Behavior during Building Fires

December 30, 2008
Author(s)
Erica D. Kuligowski
Evacuation models, including engineering hand calculations and computational tools, are used to evaluate the level of safety provided by buildings during evacuation. Building designs, occupant procedures, and notification technology are based on the

Performance of Home Smoke Alarms Analysis of the Response of Several Available Technologies in Residential Fire Settings (NIST TN 1455-1)

December 1, 2007
Author(s)
Richard W. Bukowski, Richard D. Peacock, Jason D. Averill, Thomas G. Cleary, Nelson P. Bryner, William D. Walton, Paul A. Reneke, Erica D. Kuligowski
This report presents the results of the project and provides details of the response of a range of residential smoke alarm technologies in a controlled laboratory test and in a series of real-scale tests conducted in two different residential structures