Emergency evacuation in high-rise apartment building is a challenge for fire safety professionals. Lift evacuation is a controversial issue because the safe operation of lift is not ensured under the existing design and operating conditions. Lifts are not permitted for public evacuation in apartment buildings during fire emergencies as per the provisions of building codes and regulations. However, the concept of using lifts for emergency evacuation has been gaining considerable attention during recent years. The lift evacuation can be considered as an alternative facility if it is efficient, reliable and readily accessible. It can also provide a safer means of evacuation for the aged and disabled persons, who may not be able to evacuate promptly, efficiently and unassisted using the exit stairs during fire emergencies. Moreover, lifts can enable building corporate management to easily and promptly access the fireaffected floor and commence fire fighting. The work on the use of lifts for emergency evacuation was initiated in the early 1990s at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, USA) in which pros and cons were analysed in order to develop suitable guidelines. This research project examines the feasibility of using lifts along with design modifications as an alternative facility for a safer and more efficient emergency evacuation. The scope of this research is limited to apartment buildings where occupant load is low and fire load is generally confined to dwelling compartment units. This research project analysed the important issues in relation to the use of lifts for emergency evacuation. The issues were divided into three categories: human behavioural response, fire hazards and lift operational mechanism. Output variables relating to human behavioural response were modelled and analysed as a stochastic process. Residents’ choice for using evacuation routes was determined using a survey. The issues of fire hazards (fire, smoke and toxic gases) were analysed for occupant safety under variable conditions using the concept of fire safety index. The issues of lift operational mechanism such as lift malfunctioning due to excessive temperature, electric power failure and water damage were considered for developing probabilistic models. An integrated approach of risk assessment for the issues of human behavioural response and fire hazards (such as ‘decision uncertainty’, ‘panic’, ‘nonfatal and fatal injuries’) was developed based on the Multi-Objectives Decision Analysis method. The results for lift and stair systems were compared and the feasibility of using lift with design modifications was analysed for alternative designs and evacuation strategies. The outcomes of this research have shown that using lifts with a protected lobby for up to one-fourth of the building population (who may be aged and disabled) has huge potential as an alternative evacuation facility with enhanced level of safety. Lifts with protected lobby for one-fourth of the building population showed an improved level of fire safety from exposure to fire effluents. The reliability of lift operational mechanism is also improved in protected lift shafts. Lifts with protected lobby for up to one-fourth of the building population and stairs for up to three-fourth of the building population showed an improved evacuation safety. The risks in combined evacuation systems (protected lifts and stairs) are found to be lower when compared to using stairs or protected lifts. Lifts with double lobby protection (for example, two levels of compartmentation with fire and smoke doors for lift lobby) showed further improvements. This research has proposed alternative designs for lifts and developed models for analyzing evacuation effectiveness based on risks related to human behaviour, fire hazards and operational mechanism. It has shown that a combined use of lifts and stairs has significant advantages. The performance based lift evacuation system is achievable in apartment buildings. These research findings are based on uncertainty analysis, which can be further extended to other types of buildings in the future.

A segurança contra incêndios ainda é um tema incipiente no Brasil. Em São Paulo a primeira legislação data de 1983, sendo conseqüência das tragédias ocorridas nos anos de 1970, como a do Edifício Andraus, em 1972, e a do Edifício Joelma em 1975. Este trabalho procura discorrer sobre o projeto de saídas de emergência dos edifícios escolares construídos pelo Estado de São Paulo e em especial, os mais contemporâneos, que estão elevando seu gabarito de altura e concentrando sua população. Inicialmente fez-se uma abordagem histórica onde procurou-se examinar as principais características tipológicas das escolas construídas pelo Estado de São Paulo e, no capítulo seguinte, um levantamento das legislações edilícias produzidas pelo Município e pelo Estado de São Paulo, sempre com foco na segurança contra incêndio e, em especial, nas saídas de emergência. Em seguida, procurou-se compreender o conceito de desempenho, os principais modelos matemáticos utilizados na segurança contra incêndios e as variáveis que podem influenciar um processo de abandono, tais como: a velocidade das pessoas, o tempo de resposta ao alarme e o comportamento humano em situações de incêndio. Por fim, algumas simulações de abandono por computador para quatro escolas foram realizadas, utilizando o modelo matemático denominado buildingExodus, com o objetivo de avaliar as saídas de emergência e contribuir para o aprofundamento e a divulgação do conhecimento sobre o assunto. / Fire safety is still an incipient subject in Brazil. In São Paulo, the first piece of legislation dates back to 1983, being a consequence of the tragedies that occurred in the 1970s, such as the one in the Andraus Building in 1972 and the one in the Joelma Building in 1975. This work aims at discoursing on the design of the emergency exits of the school buildings that have been constructed by the State of São Paulo, especially the design of the most contemporary structures, which have been increasing in height and concentrating their population. Initially, a historical perspective is presented, followed by an examination of the principal characteristics of the schools that the State of São Paulo has built and by a study of the building regulations that the City and the State of São Paulo have created, always focusing on fire safety and, especially, on emergency exits. After that, this work tries to understand the performance-based concept, the principal mathematical models utilized in fire safety and the factors that may influence an evacuation process, such as: peoples travel speeds, the time delay to start evacuating on hearing a fire alarm, and the human behavior in fire situations. Finally, some computer-based evacuation simulations in four schools were done, utilizing the mathematical model called buildingExodus, in order to evaluate the emergency exits and to contribute to the further understanding and dissemination of the subject.

A segurança contra incêndios ainda é um tema incipiente no Brasil. Em São Paulo a primeira legislação data de 1983, sendo conseqüência das tragédias ocorridas nos anos de 1970, como a do Edifício Andraus, em 1972, e a do Edifício Joelma em 1975. Este trabalho procura discorrer sobre o projeto de saídas de emergência dos edifícios escolares construídos pelo Estado de São Paulo e em especial, os mais contemporâneos, que estão elevando seu gabarito de altura e concentrando sua população. Inicialmente fez-se uma abordagem histórica onde procurou-se examinar as principais características tipológicas das escolas construídas pelo Estado de São Paulo e, no capítulo seguinte, um levantamento das legislações edilícias produzidas pelo Município e pelo Estado de São Paulo, sempre com foco na segurança contra incêndio e, em especial, nas saídas de emergência. Em seguida, procurou-se compreender o conceito de desempenho, os principais modelos matemáticos utilizados na segurança contra incêndios e as variáveis que podem influenciar um processo de abandono, tais como: a velocidade das pessoas, o tempo de resposta ao alarme e o comportamento humano em situações de incêndio. Por fim, algumas simulações de abandono por computador para quatro escolas foram realizadas, utilizando o modelo matemático denominado buildingExodus, com o objetivo de avaliar as saídas de emergência e contribuir para o aprofundamento e a divulgação do conhecimento sobre o assunto. / Fire safety is still an incipient subject in Brazil. In São Paulo, the first piece of legislation dates back to 1983, being a consequence of the tragedies that occurred in the 1970s, such as the one in the Andraus Building in 1972 and the one in the Joelma Building in 1975. This work aims at discoursing on the design of the emergency exits of the school buildings that have been constructed by the State of São Paulo, especially the design of the most contemporary structures, which have been increasing in height and concentrating their population. Initially, a historical perspective is presented, followed by an examination of the principal characteristics of the schools that the State of São Paulo has built and by a study of the building regulations that the City and the State of São Paulo have created, always focusing on fire safety and, especially, on emergency exits. After that, this work tries to understand the performance-based concept, the principal mathematical models utilized in fire safety and the factors that may influence an evacuation process, such as: peoples travel speeds, the time delay to start evacuating on hearing a fire alarm, and the human behavior in fire situations. Finally, some computer-based evacuation simulations in four schools were done, utilizing the mathematical model called buildingExodus, in order to evaluate the emergency exits and to contribute to the further understanding and dissemination of the subject.

A norma brasileira que trata de Saídas de Emergência, a ABNT NBR 9077:2001, pressupõe que o perfil da população de alunos em edifícios escolares, do ensino fundamental à universidade, é homogêneo, e que, portanto, não há eventuais particularidades inerentes às diferentes faixas etárias no uso das saídas de emergência. Esta pesquisa partiu da hipótese de que o perfil da população e, em particular, o de crianças do ciclo básico do ensino fundamental, pode ser diferente do adulto e, por consequência, demandar um dimensionamento específico para as saídas de emergência. Assim, realizou-se a coleta e análise de dados relativos à velocidade de caminhamento e aspectos comportamentais de crianças no movimento de descida de escadas, além de buscar correlações entre as velocidades e os dados antropométricos. Participaram da pesquisa 783 alunos do ciclo básico do ensino fundamental, oriundos de três escolas de ensino gratuito, com idade entre 6 e 10 anos. Foram testadas duas técnicas para a coleta dos dados: filmagens obtidas por meio de sistema fechado de televisão (CFTV) e sistema de identificação por rádio frequência (RFID), sendo que essa última não atendeu às expectativas e necessidades da pesquisa. As velocidades obtidas por processamento de dados de filmagens foram comparadas com as adotadas nos softwares de simulação de abandono \"FDS+EVAC\" e \"Simulex\". Constatou-se que, para os lances das escadas, as velocidades das crianças obtidas se assemelham as de referência de adultos (0,45 m/s até 1,05 m/s). Já para a velocidades obtidas nos patamares, houve grande dispersão, em relação aos valores de referência para adultos e crianças. Verificou-se, também, que o trajeto mais utilizado nos patamares foi o interno (mais curto) e que o emprego de métodos simplificados para estimar esses trajetos pode resultar em dados de velocidade imprecisos. Não foi constatada nenhuma correlação significativa entre as medidas antropométricas (IMC e bideltóide) e as velocidades dos alunos em lances ou patamares de escadas. Devido a dispersão dos resultados obtidos, não é possível a confirmação da hipótese inicial desta pesquisa. / In the Brazilian Technical Standard concerning means of egress (ABNT NBR 9077. 2001) it is presumed that the profile of students\' population in educational buildings, from elementary school to college, is homogeneous. Therefore, it does not consider the eventual particularities intrinsic to specific age groups during the use of egress systems. Assuming that the profile of elementary school children may be different from adults\', the criteria applicable to a variety of means of egress components could be more specific according to the occupant\'s characteristics. Thus, data regarding walking speeds and behavioral aspects of children in descending movement of stairs were collected and analyzed. Anthropometric data (weight, height and bideltoid measurement) from each child were also collected in order to seek correlations between these dimensions and the walking speeds. 783 elementary students from 3 different public schools, ages varying from 6 to 10 years old, participated in this research. Two techniques were tested for collecting data: recorded images from closed-circuit television (CCTV) and signals from radio-frequency identification (RFID); however, the last one was discarded due to technical difficulties. When compared to the speeds adopted by the egress simulation softwares \"FDS+EVAC\" and \"Simulex\", it was noticed that children\'s travel speeds in stairs are actually quite similar to the ones adopted for adults (0,45 m/s to 1,05 m/s), contrasting with the common sense that infants are slower than grown-ups. As for the walking speeds on landings, a wide dispersion in relation to parameters determined for adults and children was found. It was also noticed that most infants chose the shortest path (internal) on landings and that designation of a simplified average trajectory can lead to inaccurate travel speeds. Regarding the anthropometric measurements and walking speeds, no direct correlation was found. Due to the significant dispersion of the results, the initial hypothesis of this research could not be confirmed.