ISO/TR 16738 - Fire Safety Engineering – Technical information on methods for evaluating behaviour and movement of people
The first edition of the technical Report entitled “Fire Safety Engineering – Technical information on methods for evaluating behaviour and movement of people was published by the International Organization for Standardization in August 2009.
It is intended that the report will provide information to designers, regulators and fire safety professionals on the engineering methods available for evacuation strategies in relation to the evaluation of life safety aspects of a fire safety engineering design. Information is presented on the evaluation, quantification and management of occupant behaviour, particularly escape behaviour during a fire emergency.
Reference is made to people with disabilities is in Annex C3 - “Occupant characteristics” and Annex G5.4 – Effect of impaired Mobility and other factors on travel speed. Annex G5 makes reference to two reports which it used as part of the study.
- BOYCE, K.E., SHIELDS, T.J., AND SILCOCK, G.W.H., Toward the Characterization of Building Occupancies for Fire Safety Engineering: Capability of Disabled People Moving Horizontally and on an Incline, Fire Technology, Vol. 35, No.1, pp 51-67, February 1999
- SHIELDS, T.J., Fire and Disabled People in Buildings, Report BR231, Building Research Establishment, Garston, UK, 1993
The report notes that the literature used as part of the report was prepared some years ago and it is important to consider our ageing population and the effects this will have on movement of people and speeds in which people move while leaving buildings. Further information on this report is available here.
