Evacuation behaviors and emergency communications: An analysis of real-world incident videos

• Published in: Safety science Vol. 136; pp. 105121 - None
• Main Authors: van der Wal, C. Natalie, Robinson, Mark A., Bruine de Bruin, Wändi, Gwynne, Steven
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2021; Elsevier BV; Elsevier
• Subjects: Alarms; Civil Engineering; Communication; Communications; Crowd behavior; Crowd management; Delayed response; Emergencies; Emergency exits; Emergency medical care; Emergency preparedness; Emergency response; Engineering and Technology; Evacuation; Evacuations & rescues; Health risks; Messages; Risk analysis; Risk communication; Risk factors; Risk management; Risk reduction; Risk taking; Samhällsbyggnadsteknik; Teknik; Terrorism; Video; Video analysis; Crowd management; Emergencies; Crowd behavior; Risk communication; Video analysis; Evacuation
• ISSN: 0925-7535; 1879-1042; 0925-7535
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2020.105121

•Videos were analyzed to examine which emergency communication strategies might reduce risk behaviors.•We believe this is the first video analysis relating emergency communications to evacuation behaviors.•Our analyses suggest that having staff guide people to exits is the most effective evacuation strategy.•Evacuation alarms were associated with more delayed responses than other communication strategies.•People filming the incident occurred more with alarms sounding and prerecorded messages might not prevent people filming the incident.•Compared to no communications, all emergency communication strategies were associated with running during evacuations.•Our main practical recommendation is to supplement traditional emergency alarms with guidance from staff. Emergencies such as fires and terrorist attacks pose risks of injuries and fatalities, which can be exacerbated by delayed, ill-informed, or unmanaged responses. Effective emergency communication strategies could be used to better inform people and reduce these risks. This research analyzes videos of real-world emergencies to: (a) identify people’s observed behaviors that increase risk during evacuations, and (b) examine which emergency communication strategies might reduce risk behaviors. We analyzed 126 publicly available videos of emergency evacuations in different emergencies (e.g., fire, terror attack, evacuation alarm, perceived threat). We found evidence of three types of risk behaviors (delayed response, filming, running) and four emergency communication strategies (evacuation alarm, staff guiding people to exits, general prerecorded message, live announcement). Our analyses suggest that having staff guide people to exits is the most effective strategy for promoting faster and more effective responses. However, neither live announcements nor pre-recorded messages were associated with delayed responses, while evacuation alarms were associated with more delayed responses than other communication strategies. Although people filming the incident was unrelated to staff interactions, it occurred more with alarms sounding and prerecorded messages, suggesting that these emergency communications might not prevent filming. Compared to no communications, all emergency communication strategies reduced running during evacuations. We discuss the implications of this research for identifying effective emergency communication strategies and reducing risk-increasing evacuation behaviors.