B073 Residential evacuation risk

Risk of evacuation time in old high-rise residential buildings of Hong Kong

Brief:

Emergency evacuation is a primary fire safety concern for old high-rise buildings and is closely related to the occupant loads. In this study, the fire safety of old high-rise residential buildings of Hong Kong is examined from a perspective of the risk of evacuees, who might not be able to escape from an unprotected space through the exits to a safe area within a designated period of time. In case of an emergency evacuation, the probable risk of the evacuees is evaluated from certain exit dimensions with a door carrying capacity, along with the surveyed occupant loads in an old high-rise of Hong Kong. The results showed that the occupant loads in the old high-rise buildings would be higher than that of the average residential buildings in Hong Kong. Correspondingly, the relative excessive risk of evacuees in an old high-rise residential building would be up to 6% higher than that of the average residential buildings in Hong Kong with the same evacuation designs. The results would be useful for the risk assessment of safe egress designs of old high-rise residential buildings in Hong Kong.

Further Information:

Wong LT, Fong NK, 2008. Risk of evacuation time in old high-rise residential buildings of Hong Kong, Joint Symposium 2008 on Shaping our Future Environment, 18 November, Kowloon Shangri-la Hotel, Hong Kong, pp. 115-122.