- Author
-
Shields, T. J.
- Title
- Fire and Disabled People in Buildings. Building Research Establishment Report.
- Coporate
- University of Ulster, UK
- Report
-
BR 231; CI/SIB 98(K24)(U35)
1993
79 p.
- Keywords
-
handicapped
|
emergencies
|
evacuation
|
building design
|
regulations
|
safety standards
|
escape means
|
case histories
|
fire safety
- Identifiers
- technological and social developments: the literature; BS 5588:Part 8:1988 - scope and status; data on disabled people involved in fires; management of buildings in use in the context of fire and people with disabilities; potential interactions in emergency evacuations of mixed-ability populations; theatre evacuation
- Abstract
- The behavior in fire emergencies of people with disabilities is a vast and under-researched topic. In keeping with emerging European Directives, the Department of the Environment's Construction Directorate has sought to illuminate some aspects of the subject in order to guide the development of future Building Regulations. The present and future wish of governments to encourage greater access for disabled people carried with it a duty to ensure a reasonable standard of safety in case an emergency exit is forced on them by a devloping fire. This report makes a determined effort to address the many issues facing a designer. It examines the literature, extracting conclusions from the very few numerical studies available. It looks at the guidance now at the disposal of fire safety engineers, commenting on its strengths, weaknesses and the degree to which it has penetrated the routine of compliance and enforcement of fire protection. It also examines the statistics of disablement associated with fire and notes some conflicts between sources.