Modelling the evacuation of a high-rise office building in Istanbul

The use of advanced computer models for the analysis of evacuation problems in buildings under fire conditions or terrorist attacks has become an increasingly important research area. Until recently, most safety considerations regarding the evacuation of a building are taken on the basis of some deterministic rules prescribed in fire codes. However, these rules and design principles may not be sufficient to explain the complex interaction between a vast numbers of variables affecting the evacuation process. Also, the characteristics of a fire can differ from building to building and occupants can demonstrate distinctly different behavioural patterns and physiological characteristics. As a result, potential weaknesses, particular to the investigated building, can go unnoticed which, in turn, may result in disastrous consequences during an emergency. The study concentrates on two issues: firstly, what methodology should be pursued to accurately model an evacuation problem and the derivation and extent of parameters needed to fully utilise the potentials of the advanced computer models, in this case, the buildingEXODUS; the second issue is an investigation of the evacuation behaviour in a high-rise office building in Istanbul. It is found that exit knowledge and the preferences of occupants can severely slow down the evacuation process. Fires closer to the ground floor increase the death toll significantly. Failure in the activation of the sprinkler system or the absence of the system altogether can have disastrous effects on the loss of life.