Laserfiche WebLink
• <br /> DELAY OF DISCOVERY AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR <br /> Preventing the total destruction of a building, with <br /> consequent loss of thousands of dollars is true Fire <br /> Prevention. Repeated examples emphasize that delay in <br /> discovery of a fire is one of the outstanding causes of <br /> serious fires. <br /> Experience has provided some knowledge of how to <br /> control the physical effects of fire through <br /> legislation and regulation. These regulations provide <br /> the provisions of escape routes, fire-resistive <br /> materials, the structural design of buildings and other <br /> engineering aspects. Such provisions are based only on <br /> traditional assumptions of human behavior in fire <br /> situations, response to fire alarms, use of <br /> extinguishers, travel through smoke and use of escape <br /> routes. However, the nature of fire has changed <br /> somewhat during recent -years. The emergence of toxic <br /> smoke from foam-filled furniture has added a new <br /> dimension to coping with rapid and safe evacuation of <br /> occupants from a building in the event of a fire. <br /> Compliance with the firesafety requirements of building <br /> regulations and codes reduces the fire risk in a <br /> building and will provide adequate means for safe <br /> evacuation. This success, additionally depends on the <br /> behavior of building occupants at the time of a fire. <br /> Buildings contain a wide variety of people, some who <br /> will be able to escape in most circumstances, others <br /> who would have extreme difficulty and those who will <br /> not attempt to escape. Others will take the risk of <br /> fighting the fire. These behavior patterns are <br /> influenced by phychological, physiological , <br /> circumstantial factors and previous involvement in fire <br /> incidents. They can also be influenced by the severity <br /> of the threat posed by fire, the building design and <br /> the fire protection systems installed. <br /> Behavior in multiple occupancies such as hotels, <br /> apartments or commercial buildings involves quite a lot <br /> of contact with other people, giving and receiving <br /> assistance. Initial acts are associated with ambiguous <br /> and strange noises which are often misinterpreted or <br /> ignored. The cues, if persistent, are normally <br /> followed by investigation. Typically this gives rise <br /> to direct contact with fire or smoke and the subsequent <br /> return of the person to where he or she was. The <br /> sequence of acts following the initial act produces a <br /> complex pattern based on potential sources of <br />