The incorporation and validation of empirical crawling data into the buildingEXODUS model

The deterioration of environmental conditions can influence evacuee decisions and their subsequent behaviors. Simulating evacuee behaviors enhances the robustness of engineering procedural designs, improves the accuracy of egress models, and better evaluates the safety of evacuees. The purpose of this paper is to more accurately incorporate and validate evacuee crawling behavior into the buildingEXODUS egress model. Crawling data were incorporated into the model and tested for accurate representation. Once confirmed, the data were compared to another crawling data set for validation. The buildingEXODUS model demonstrated the ability to incorporate and compare the effects of crawling behavior. The paper further suggests some enhancements to be made to models that attempt to simulate crawling.