How Can We Prepare the Buildings for the Evacuations to be Carried Out in 2020 and Beyond?

Yilmaz Ozcan

Eaton Electric Turkey Country Manager

The main goal in the evacuation of any building is to protect people. Although the nature of threats to individuals within buildings has changed, security practices in older buildings are still the same, and there have been some documented cases in past years of unplanned building evacuations leading to tragic consequences.

A recent study on this subject reveals that more than 70% of the people in the building are not able to notice the traditional exit signs. For this reason, building owners or managers need to consider a number of factors that will ensure the safest evacuation of commercial and residential buildings for which they are responsible.

Risk Diversification

In modern times, commercial buildings must be prepared not only against fire, but also against new threats such as terrorism, civil unrest and severe weather conditions. This preparation requires more stringent planning of the evacuation of commercial buildings that may be affected by these threats than was necessary in the past.

Evacuation process; it is even more difficult for buildings that are large and complex in layout, or buildings with large numbers of people who are not familiar with escape routes and procedures. Some buildings are more affected during an emergency than other buildings, especially if they have a higher risk of being targeted by terrorists or are equipped with old products and installations.

Such features may require more advanced evacuation procedures and technologies. Research on crowd behavior during emergencies, as well as studies of exemplary cases, have identified the extent of progress that can be made in managing evacuations.

One of the most important findings is that static guidance signs cannot be noticed or acted upon. The research found that when people in the building were unfamiliar with the environment, only 38% noticed traditional exit signs during supposed emergencies . Traditional exit signs are unable to guide or orient people according to changing conditions or real-time hazards such as closed exit routes. This is a significant vulnerability given the variety of threats faced by complex buildings and the ability of these threats to spread in real time.

Technology is Crucial for All Buildings, New and Old

Whether the nature of the risk in modern buildings is commercial buildings or residential buildings (where many or few people reside);  it changes inexorably. Fortunately, technology has advanced, and thanks to this, fire prevention devices and adaptive evacuation methods mitigate negative consequences or completely eliminate risks.

According to the latest figures , 25% of all fires that occur each year in Europe are caused by electrical faults, so it would be encouraging to know that arc fault detection devices (AFDD) can be used to deal with the hidden threat posed by micro-radiation that can occur due to damage to cables. This exemplifies modern innovation that prevents a fire before it starts and eliminates the need for an evacuation scenario.

Addressing the problems posed by static signs, new forms of guidance systems are being introduced to make visual escape routes easier to be noticed and to provide greater flexibility in the orientation of people in the building. Adaptive exit lighting and dynamic exit signals guide occupants of the building to an alternative exit point. Adaptive systems ensure that exit routes are constantly changed in accordance with the location and nature of the hazard.

With these preventive or sensitive practices, it would have been possible to prevent or better manage the many cases reported in the past few years. While there can be no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to the safety of buildings, these new technologies complement the practices in traditional evacuation, which guarantees that people in both old and new buildings are protected against the various threats we face today.