Measuring evacuation difficulty

A measurement system developed to measure the difficulty, in terms of relative time, that a group of individuals of mixed capabilities would have in escaping from a burning residence is discussed. The concept basically involves determining which occupants must have assistance to evacuate, the amount of assistance that would be needed, the amount of assistance available, and the promptness of response of such assistance. An evacuation difficulty index is derived by summing the total needs and dividing that value by the sum of the assistance available. The result produces an index value that is felt to be approximately linear in terms of relative escape time in any given building. The index produced is used in a recently developed Fire Safety Evaluation System for Board and Care Homes as the determinant of the level of facility safeguards to be required.