jaue2015075: Analysis of Walking Speed and Evacuation Time according to the Familiarity of Group Members

Abstract

Damage from fires and disasters is occurring worldwide. In order to minimize the casualties from such disasters, planning evacuation routes and locating refuge facilities is vital. For efficient evacuation plans, analysis of human behavior should be conducted. When disasters occur, the occupants of a building evacuate in groups; it is important to assess group behavior characteristics based on the personalities within these groups. Therefore, this study analyzes human behavioral characteristics, exploring the role of familiarity within a group setting. We constructed an experimental setting and conducted the experiment. This experiment participate 40 people. They were divided into eight groups of 5 people. The experiment was divided into two cases, and each case repeated four times. One case involved a group comprised of individuals familiar to one another, and the other group was comprised of strangers. It was found that the walking speed of the group of familiar individuals was fastest. When comparing the time elapsed between the evacuation of the leader and the last person, the evacuation time for the familiar group was shorter.