| Title |
Fire Safety Awareness and Assessment of Alternate Escape Methods by Residents in Apartment Building |
| Authors |
Lee So-Young ; Lee Myung-Sik |
| Keywords |
Fire ; Fire Safety Awareness ; Escape Method ; Apartment Building |
| Abstract |
This study focuses on fire safety issues and alternate escape methods in apartment buildings. Life risks from residential buildings often come from occupant's cognitive and physical ability, degree of difficulty of fire escape due to the building characteristics, etc. The purpose of this study is to investigate fire safety awareness of residents in order to identify important behavioral characteristics to improve fire escape and compare alternate fire escape methods in each apartment unit from the resident's viewpoint. Questionnaires were distributed to apartment residents. A total of 370 questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS 15. The findings show that residents worry about fire safety and fire escape although a majority of respondents hardly experience residential fire. More than a half of respondents indicated that they would escape from fire toward the ground area. Residents assessed degree of safety, security, privacy and effectiveness of the alternate fire escape methods. Alternate fire escape methods need to be placed in a residential unit not as a substitute but as a complimentary in case of fire. |