93 Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering/May 2013/100

An Experimental Study on Evacuation Times in a Subway Station Using Evacuation

Parameters
Seong-Hwan Yoon
1
, Min-Jung Lee
2
and Jurng-Jae Yee*
3
1
Professor, Department of Architecture, Pusan National University, Korea
2
Graduate Student, Department of Geography & Sustainable Development, University of St. Andrews, UK
3
Professor, Department of Architectural Engineering, Dong-A University, Korea
Abstract
In this study, 292 participants took part in the evacuation experiment and completed a questionnaire. The
study was conducted in a large subway station in order to analyze evacuation times during a fre, and used
different evacuation parameters. The subway station where the experiment was conducted consisted of two
basement foors. The evacuation started as soon as the train, in which a fre had occurred, came into the
subway station and the doors were opened. The entire process of the evacuation experiment was recorded
by using video cameras installed in the subway station. After the evacuation experiment was completed,
participants were asked to answer questionnaires on evacuation parameters such as; gender, whether they had
companions, how well they know that particular station, their usual level of awareness of evacuation, and
their level of evacuation knowledge. By analysing the survey results, the time of egress from the train, and
the total evacuation time, the results were as follows.
1) Female participants were slower by 23% on average compared to male participants. While male
participants evacuated according to an order of egress from the train, female participants were affected by
many other factors during evacuation.
2) Those who had companions were slower in evacuation by 29% on average compared to solo evacuees.
3) Knowledge of the area helped both female and male participants during the evacuation. The delay in
evacuation according to a lack of knowledge of the station was only 9% in the case of male participants, but
21% in the case of female participants.
4) Those who did not usually think about evacuation were slower to evacuate by 8% on average than the
other group who had a good level of awareness.
5) Those who did not have any knowledge of evacuation were slower by 18% on average than the group
who had a high level of evacuation knowledge.
Keywords: evacuation experiment; subway; fre; evacuation time; evacuation parameter
1. Introduction
Recently as larger scale buildings and more high-
rises are constructed due to industrial development, the
safety of building residents is increasingly threatened
by fre. The primary goal of building residents during
a fire is to evacuate to a safe place. Evacuation is
determined by complex processes which consist of
factors such as fire and the parameters of human
behavior. Evacuation paths and exits during a fire
can differ from behavior patterns including homing,
herd instinct, the propensity to walk in a straight line,
and preference for a familiar path. Studies of human
behavior play an important role in evacuation studies,
especially because of panic behavior, which is a
very irrational form of behavior that may differ from
behavior in normal situations and can affect the success
of an evacuation.
Research on evacuation behavior today is generally
being carried out through a series of interviews with
survivors from fres, questionnaires, evacuation drills
and computer simulation programs. The building
structure, occupants and risks can be set freely within
computer simulation programs, but this advantage
of being able to recreate the building contains a
shortcoming, which is that human behavior during
a fire cannot be replicated. Many researchers
1-6
have
therefore used reported data from evacuation drills in
*Contact Author: Jurng-Jae Yee, Professor,
Department of Architectural Engineering, Dong-A University,
840 Hadan 2-dong, Saha-gu, Busan, 604-714, Korea
Tel: +82-51-200-7609 Fax: +82-51-294-2256
E-mail: jjyee@dau.ac.kr
( Received April 12, 2012 ; accepted February 22, 2013 )
94 JAABE vol.12 no.1 May 2013 Seong-Hwan Yoon
order to compensate for the drawbacks of simulation
programs. In Korea, many studies have been carried
out using simulation programs after fires in subway
stations (2003). However, the default data suggested
by the program developers, and reported data from
simulation experiments
1-5
are being used to input the
evacuation variables.
Unf or t unat el y, t he amount of r epor t ed dat a
from simulation experiments is very limited, and
it is necessary to continue performing evacuation
experiments to secure fundamental data including
evacuation time by evacuation parameters, evacuation
paths, or walking speed, so that the collected data can
be actively refected to develop evacuation simulation
programs which take evacuation behaviors into
consideration.
This study aims to collect basic data on the varied
behaviour of evacuees during evacuation through an
evacuation experiment. Evacuation experiments were
carried out in a subway station, connected to a large
department store, and attempted to analyze evacuation
time according to each evacuation parameter by using
video recordings during the experiment as well as
questionnaires.
2. Outline of Evacuation Experiment
2.1 Experiment Subjects and Place
The experiment was conducted at Centum City
subway station on subway line 2 in Haeundae-gu,
the city of Busan. Multi-use facilities such as large
exhibition and convention centers and large department
stores are clustered around the station exit. The foating
population of Centum City station per day in 2012 was
18,251. The department store is the worlds biggest, and
the area is usually very crowded. Due to the high fow
rate of people, this area is very important in terms of
evacuation safety.
Two hundred and ninety two university students
in their 20s participated in the experiment, as shown
in Table 1. Many different variables needed to be
considered in selecting the experiment participants.
However, due t o t he l i mi t at i on of consi deri ng
numerous variables in one set of experiments, healthy
young people who can be considered to have the
same conditions in terms of physical handicap, were
accepted.
The depth of the experiment station was 16m.
Platforms were located on basement 2, and each
platform had 4 staircases consisting of 2 sets of
staircases. Each set of staircases was connected to a
gate. There were 13 exits that lead to the outside.
There were 2 underground entrances to the large
department store between exit 6 and exit 10. Each exit
was as shown in Table 2. and the layout of the subway
station is as shown in Fig.1.
Table 1. Outline of Subjects
Gender
Male [-] 156 (53%)
Female [-] 136 (47%)
Height
Average height [m] 169.5
Maximum height [m] 189.0
Minimum height [m] 151.0
Weight
Average weight [kg] 60.1
Maximum weight [kg] 95.0
Minimum weight [kg] 40.9
Age
Average age [years] 22
Maximum age [years] 27
Minimum age [years] 20
Table 2. Main Paths in the Experiment
Width (m) Depth (m)
Platform A,B,C,D 3.7 4.3
Waiting Room 1 7.5 5.8
Waiting Room 2 7.5 9.5
Exit 6 2.1 5.9
Exit 10,12 2.1 3.2
Exit 3,5,11,13 2.1 11.7
Fig.1. Layout of the Station












Fig. 1. Layout of the Station










Fig. 2. Recording Sections and the Number of Video Cameras Installed on Platforms in the Waiting Room







95 JAABE vol.12 no.1 May 2013 Seong-Hwan Yoon
2.2 Experimental Conditions and Evacuation
Parameters
Evacuation parameters set in this study were
as shown in Table 3. The evacuation parameters
of part i ci pant s were al so used i n creat i ng t he
questionnaires. The evacuation time from the train in
Table 3. was measured by analyzing video records.
The experimental conditions and scenarios are as
follows.
1) In order to minimize the possibility of participants
acquiring knowledge about the station used in
the experiment, participants were gathered two
stations before the experiment's location.
2) The subway train had 6 cars in total. Fifty
participants boarded each car from car 1 to car 5,
and 42 participants boarded the sixth car.
3) Before the evacuation experiment 3 pairs of
companions (friends, couples, and families) were
arranged in each car. It was arranged so that these
pairs would evacuate together.
4) The passengers assumed that the train was on
fre when it arrived at the station. After the doors
of the train were opened at the platform, the
participants started to evacuate.
5) While the station had 13 exits in total, only 7 were
used in the experiment due to high accessibility.
6) Smoke-generators were used to produce a life
-like fre situation at the station.
7) A questionnaire of the subject's characteristics
was conducted after all the experiments were
carried out.
3. Measurement of the Evacuation Time
3.1 A Summary of the Video Recording on the
Evacuation
Twenty-nine video cameras were installed at the
station to record all processes regarding the evacuation
experiments.
Before the experiment, the participants were given
ID stickers to put on their heads, chests, and backs.
Video cameras were installed at the places that were
not visible from the CCTV in the station. Information
on the installment of the video cameras is shown in
Table 4., Fig.2.
3.2 Video Analysis Process
The total evacuation process was observed through
video cameras installed in each evacuation path:
subway train platform stairways on
platform turnstiles station waiting room
exits to ground foor.
Each participant's evacuation time was calculated
accordi ng t o t he process shown i n Fi g. 3. The
evacuation time was set to start when the subway doors
were opened, and to end when participants reached the
ground foor outside the subway exits.
T
(i)total evacuation time
=t
6(i)=
T
1(i)+
T
2(i)
+
T3(i)
+T
4(i)
+T
5(i)
+T
6(i)
4. Results and Discussions
4.1 Total Evacuation Time
The subway train that left the experimental station
arrived 46 seconds after the fire began. The starting
Table 3. Evacuation Parameters in Questionnaire
Parameters Contents
Gender Male/Female
Time of Egress from the
Train
1 sec/2 sec/3 sec/More than 4 sec
Affliation Solo group/Companion group
Number of Times Previously
Visited the Station
Never/Once or twice/Frequently
The Level of Evacuation
Awareness before the
Experiment
Unaware/Average/Well-aware
The Level of Evacuation
Knowledge before the
Experiment
No knowledge/Average/
Knowledgeable
Table 4. The Number of Video Cameras and the Contents of
Measurement
Section No. Time Measured
Inside the Car
(i)
12
From the point when the car doors
opened to the point when the
participants escaped from the car
Platform
(ii)
6 +
2 CCTVs
From the point when each
participant escaped from the car to
the point when they arrived at the
staircases of the platform.
Platform
Stairs
(iii)
From the point when each
participant escaped from the car
to the point when they arrived at a
gate through the platform staircases
Gate
(iv)
2 CCTVs
From the point when each
participant arrived at the platform
staircases to the point when they
passed each gate
Waiting Room
(v)
4
From the point when each
participant passed the gate to the
point when they arrived at the
staircases to an exit
Exit Gate
(vi)
7 +
4 CCTVs
From the point when each
participant escaped to the outside
from the exit stairs
Fig.2. Recording Sections and the Number of Video Cameras
Installed on Platforms and in the Waiting Room












Fig. 1. Layout of the Station










Fig. 2. Recording Sections and the Number of Video Cameras Installed on Platforms in the Waiting Room



















Fig. 1. Layout of the Station










Fig. 2. Recording Sections and the Number of Video Cameras Installed on Platforms in the Waiting Room







96 JAABE vol.12 no.1 May 2013 Seong-Hwan Yoon
point of the evacuation time was when the subway
doors opened, not when fire began, because the
participants could only evacuate after the train doors
opened. The average evacuation time was 89 seconds
and the first evacuee who arrived at the safe point
completed the evacuation in 25 seconds, while the
last participant completed it in 132 seconds. It can be
seen that participants evacuated more rapidly after 70
seconds as show in Fig.4. and Fig.5. This is because
some of the earlier evacuees were able to run through
the empty pathways, but the later participants could not
run and evacuate quickly because the pathways were
congested.
4.2 Evacuation Time According to Gender
The frst male evacuee completed the evacuation in
25 seconds while the frst female participant completed
it in 62 seconds. Fig.6. shows the distribution of
evacuation time according to gender. Forty percent
of the male participants evacuated within 70 seconds,
but only 10% of the female participants did so. A
comparison between the two groups shows that the
average evacuation time of female participants was
23% longer than that of the male participants. The
average evacuation time for the males was recorded
at 73 seconds, but that of female participants was
recorded at 90 seconds. These results were due to the
fact that the walking speed of the males was faster than
that of the females and some male participants jumped
over the turnstiles instead of waiting for their turn or
managed to fnd the evacuation path more rapidly than
the female participants.
4.3 Evacuation Time by Speed of Egress from the
Train
The video data showed that the participants in the
cars were standing and preparing for evacuation before
the train arrived at the station. The preparation order
for evacuation proved to be an important factor to
determine the order for evacuation.
Collect video files
Distinguish videos and number by place
1 = train
2 = platform
3 = stairway on platform floor
4 = gate
5 = waiting room
6 = exit
Set the Start Point
(The time when train doors opened = 0 sec)
n = 0
n = n+1
Open a (n) Video Data
Identify participants ID number(i)
Output the time when participant
Passed the last point in section = tn(i)
Evacuation Time in section = Tn(i)
Tn(i) = tn(i) tn-1 (i) (t
0
=0)
Are all the participants investigated?
n 6
Finish
YES
NO
NO
YES


Fig.3. Video Data Analysis Process





Fig. 4. Number of Participants who Completed the Evacuation by Time Flow


Fig.3. Video Data Analysis Process
Collect video files
Distinguish videos and number by place
1 = train
2 = platform
3 = stairway on platform floor
4 = gate
5 = waiting room
6 = exit
Set the Start Point
(The time when train doors opened = 0 sec)
n = 0
n = n+1
Open a (n) Video Data
Identify participants ID number(i)
Output the time when participant
Passed the last point in section = tn(i)
Evacuation Time in section = Tn(i)
Tn(i) = tn(i) tn-1 (i) (t
0
=0)
Are all the participants investigated?
n 6
Finish
YES
NO
NO
YES


Fig.3. Video Data Analysis Process





Fig. 4. Number of Participants who Completed the Evacuation by Time Flow


Fig.4. Number of Participants Who Completed the Evacuation
by Time Flow
Fig.5. Evacuation Time Distribution


Fig. 5. Evacuation Time Distribution


Fig. 6. Comparison of Evacuation Time by Gender




Fig. 5. Evacuation Time Distribution


Fig. 6. Comparison of Evacuation Time by Gender


Fig.6. Comparison of Evacuation Time by Gender
Gender Min. Avg. Max.
Male 25 sec. 73 sec. 128 sec.
Female 62 sec. 90 sec. 115 sec.
Table 5. Average Evacuation Time by Gender
97 JAABE vol.12 no.1 May 2013 Seong-Hwan Yoon
The evacuation time appeared to differ by gender.
Twenty-four percent of male participants evacuated
from the train within 1 second while 78% did so within
3 seconds (Fig.7.).
The number of female participants who evacuated
from the train within 1 second was only 14% while
the number who did so within 3 seconds was only
63%. Overall, the male participants evacuated from
the train more rapidly than the female participants.
Fig.8. shows the average evacuation times of male
and female participants by the speed of egress from
the train. In the case of male participants, the average
evacuation time increased continuously: The total
(ending) evacuation times for males were 36 seconds,
59 seconds, 87 seconds, and 97 seconds. On the other
hand, the evacuation times of female participants did
not increase continuously: The evacuation times for
females were 80 seconds, 89 seconds, 96 seconds, and
87 seconds.
There was a big gap in evacuation times between
males and females; male participants who evacuated
from t he t rai n wi t hi n 1 second compl et ed t he
evacuation in 36 seconds, while female participants
who had the same train evacuation time completed the
evacuation in 80 seconds. In addition, comparing the
male and female evacuation times from the same train
shows that of those who evacuated within 3 seconds,
the female participants were later than the male
participants, although they started to evacuate at the
same time. This indicates that female participants were
more influenced by other factors in the evacuation
process than male participants.
4.4 Evacuation Time with Regard to Companions
Companions include family members, friends, or
partners. In a study by J.D. Sime, evacuees showed
a tendency to evacuate with their companions, and
took longer to react to the emergency alarm than solo
evacuees
7
. This study attempted to set some artifcial
companions to investigate companion behavior during
a fire and to compare their evacuation times with
those of solo evacuees. It was also found that the pairs
who were real companions held their partners' hands
while evacuating during the experiment. Therefore,
this study further analyzed the two groups - one group
that evacuated with a companion and another group
which evacuated alone, and presented the analysis of
evacuation times according to companion behavior.
The sol o gr oup had a moder at el y gr owi ng
distribution in the initial evacuation from the train,
but over 60% of the companion group evacuated the
train after 4 seconds and their average emergency
evacuation time from the train was longer than that
of the solo group (Fig.9.). The first evacuee in the
solo group who evacuated from the train within 1
second completed the evacuation in 25 seconds, while
the first evacuee in the companion group evacuated
in 59 seconds. The gap of the average evacuation
time between the solo and companion groups was 43
seconds, while the gap of the initial evacuation time
from the train between the groups was 1 second: The
average evacuation time of the solo group was 60
seconds and that of the companion group 103 seconds.
Therefore, the evacuation time of the companion group
was 29% longer than that of the solo group as show in
Fig.10. A reason for this may be that the companion
groups attempted to avoid congestion to evacuate
safely with their companion. This made them fall
behind in competing with the solo group occupying the
evacuation paths.
Fig.11. shows the results of the emotions that
companion groups felt with their companions. From
these results, it can be seen that many of the evacuees
with companions felt psychological stability. This is
in line with J. Bran's research
8
which concluded that
while paired evacuees helped each other and felt relief
from each other, their actual evacuation time may be
delayed or take longer.
4.5 Evacuation Time by Familiarity
A typical human behavior of evacuees in fires
is that they have a tendency to use familiar paths.
This familiarity provides the subjects with useful
i nf or mat i on about t he ar ea and t hey use t hi s









Fig. 7. Distribution of Evacuation Time by Time of Egress from the Train by Gender







1sec 2sec 3sec More than 4sec
+S.D.
Male 9.9 21.8 26.4 23.3
Female 24.6 15.7 14.7 17.4
* p-value = .000


Fig. 8. Average Evacuation Time by Time of Egress from the Train





Fig. 9. Distribution of Time of Egress from the Train by Companion Behaviors


(Max)
(Avg)
(Min)
Fig.7. Distribution of Evacuation Time by Time of Egress from
the Train by Gender
Fig.8. Average Evacuation Time by Time of Egress from the Train









Fig. 7. Distribution of Evacuation Time by Time of Egress from the Train by Gender







1sec 2sec 3sec More than 4sec
+S.D.
Male 9.9 21.8 26.4 23.3
Female 24.6 15.7 14.7 17.4
* p-value = .000


Fig. 8. Average Evacuation Time by Time of Egress from the Train





Fig. 9. Distribution of Time of Egress from the Train by Companion Behaviors


(Max)
(Avg)
(Min)
1 sec. 2 sec. 3 sec. More than 4 sec.
+S.D.
Male 9.9 21.8 26.4 23.3
Female 24. 15.7 14.7 17.4
* p-value = .000
98 JAABE vol.12 no.1 May 2013 Seong-Hwan Yoon
information strategically to evacuate efficiently
9
.
Knowledge of the building space is reflected by
previous visits and experiences in the buildings. This
type of information of the area can be useful in fnding
a future evacuation route, if needed. Therefore, this
study made an assumption that the familiarity of the
station increases in accordance with the number of
times an evacuee had visited the station before, and
conducted analysis accordingly.
Survey data regarding the previous visitations of the
participants in the experiment showed that most people
had visited the subway station once or twice before.
A smaller number of the participants had visited
frequently.
Fig.12. shows the average evacuation time based on
the participants' experience of visiting the station.
In the case of the male participants, the fastest to
successfully evacuate were the group who had visited
the area frequently, they fnished the evacuation in an
average of 67 seconds. The two other groups, those
with no visiting experience and those who had visited
the area once or twice evacuated in an average of 73
seconds and 68 seconds respectively. However, the
result showed that the group who had visited the area
once or twice took on average 9% longer than those
who had never visited the station before. In the case
of the female participants, the group who had visited
the area frequently was the quickest: They fnished the
evacuation in an average of 77 seconds. People with no
visiting experience took the longest time; they took on
average 97 seconds, whilst the people who had visited
the area once or twice finished the evacuation in an
average of 90 seconds. The result shows that the group
who had never visited the area before took on average
21% longer than those who had visited once or twice
before.
Overall, the familiarity of the area turned out to be
useful in the evacuation, as the participants who had
frequently visited the station ended up evacuating
quicker than those without previous experience in
the station. In addition, it was found that the female
participants were more strongly affected by knowledge
of the subway station than the male participants.
4.6 Evacuation Time based on Levels of Awareness
concerning Emergency Evacuation
Accordi ng t o t he survey resul t s, 38% of t he
participants answered that they ignored fre alarms in
public places. Also, 40% answered the question: Do
you seek evacuation methods for cases of emergency?
saying that they usually do not seek any evacuation
methods. Only 14% answered that they seek a way
to evacuate in an emergency situation. Based on the
survey results, an analysis of evacuation time was
Fig.9. Distribution of Time of Egress from the Train
by Companion Behaviors









Fig. 7. Distribution of Evacuation Time by Time of Egress from the Train by Gender







1sec 2sec 3sec More than 4sec
+S.D.
Male 9.9 21.8 26.4 23.3
Female 24.6 15.7 14.7 17.4
* p-value = .000


Fig. 8. Average Evacuation Time by Time of Egress from the Train





Fig. 9. Distribution of Time of Egress from the Train by Companion Behaviors


(Max)
(Avg)
(Min)
Fig.10. Comparison of the Evacuation Time by Companion Behavior


Fig. 10. Comparison of the Evacuation Time by Companion Behavior




Fig. 11. Emotions Felt by the Existence of Companions within the Companion Groups






First time Once or twice Frequently
+S.D.
Male 32.2 32.1 28.6
Female 20.2 16.5 19.6
* p-value = .000



Fig. 12. Average Evacuation Time by Participants Experience of Visiting the Station

68
73
67
(Max)
(Avg)
(Min)
Fig.11. Emotions Felt by the Existence of Companions within
the Companion Groups


Fig. 10. Comparison of the Evacuation Time by Companion Behavior




Fig. 11. Emotions Felt by the Existence of Companions within the Companion Groups






First time Once or twice Frequently
+S.D.
Male 32.2 32.1 28.6
Female 20.2 16.5 19.6
* p-value = .000



Fig. 12. Average Evacuation Time by Participants Experience of Visiting the Station

68
73
67
(Max)
(Avg)
(Min)
First time
Once or
twice
Frequently
+S.D.
Male 32.2 32.1 28.6
Female 20.2 16.5 19.6
* p-value = .000


Fig. 10. Comparison of the Evacuation Time by Companion Behavior




Fig. 11. Emotions Felt by the Existence of Companions within the Companion Groups






First time Once or twice Frequently
+S.D.
Male 32.2 32.1 28.6
Female 20.2 16.5 19.6
* p-value = .000



Fig. 12. Average Evacuation Time by Participants Experience of Visiting the Station

68
73
67
(Max)
(Avg)
(Min)
Fig.12. Average Evacuation Time by Participants' Experience of
Visiting the Station
99 JAABE vol.12 no.1 May 2013 Seong-Hwan Yoon
conducted by the participants' level of evacuation
awareness. Three groups: one which always checks
evacuation methods, one average group, and one
which does not think about evacuation in the case of
emergency, were categorized. Each group's evacuation
time was 85 seconds, 87 seconds, and 92 seconds on
average respectively. It was shown that the group who
did not think about evacuation in case of emergency,
was l at er t han t he group wi t h hi gh emergency
awareness by an average of 8% as show in Fig.14.
4.7 Evacuation Time by the Level of Evacuation
Knowledge before the Experiment
Fifty percent of participants ticked average in
answering the question: Do you have knowledge of
how to evacuate? While 27% answered that they did
not have any knowledge. The rest (21%) answered
that they knew how to evacuate. Based on the survey
results, participants were categorized into three
groups: a group with a high level of knowledge about
evacuation, an average group, and another group
with no knowledge of evacuation. The results of the
evacuation time of each group were 79 seconds, 90
seconds, and 93 seconds respectively. It was shown
that the group with no knowledge of evacuation was
later to evacuate by an average of 18% when compared
to the group with good knowledge of evacuation as
shown in Fig.16.
5. Conclusion
In this study, the evacuation experiment and
questionnaire were carried out with 292 participants in
a large subway station in order to analyze evacuation
times during a fre, by different evacuation parameters.
The results are as follows.
1) Evacuat i on t i me di ff er ed by gender. The
evacuation time of the frst female evacuee was
62 seconds, and 40% of the male participants
completed the evacuation within 70 seconds. The
average evacuation time of the male participants
was 73 seconds, while the average evacuation
time of the female participants was 90 seconds,
which was later by 23%.
2) Readiness for evacuation, standing at the car
doors turned out to be an important factor in
successful speedy evacuation. The evacuation
time based on this factor also differed by gender.
Many female evacuees took more than 4 seconds
to escape the car. Due to prompt escape out of
a car, many male evacuees were able to finish
the evacuation early. However, in the case of
females, this factor was not considered to affect
the evacuation time signifcantly.
Gender Never Once or Twice Frequently
Male 20% 66% 14%
Female 25% 63% 12%
Table 6. Times Preciously Visited the Station



Fig. 13. The Level of Awareness on Emergency Evacuation




Fig. 14. Distribution of Evacuation Time by Awareness on Emergency Evacuation




Fig. 15. The Level of Evacuation Knowledge before the Experiment



Fig.13. The Level of Awareness on Emergency Evacuation



Fig. 13. The Level of Awareness on Emergency Evacuation




Fig. 14. Distribution of Evacuation Time by Awareness on Emergency Evacuation




Fig. 15. The Level of Evacuation Knowledge before the Experiment



Fig.14. Distribution of Evacuation Time by Awareness on
Emergency Evacuation



Fig. 13. The Level of Awareness on Emergency Evacuation




Fig. 14. Distribution of Evacuation Time by Awareness on Emergency Evacuation




Fig. 15. The Level of Evacuation Knowledge before the Experiment



Fig.15. The Level of Evacuation Knowledge before the Experiment
Fig.16. Distribution of Evacuation Time by the Level
of Evacuation Knowledge before the Experiment

Fig. 16. Distribution of Evacuation Time by the Level of Evacuation Knowledge before the Experiment







100 JAABE vol.12 no.1 May 2013 Seong-Hwan Yoon
3) The average evacuation time of solo evacuees
was 60 seconds, while the participants who
evacuated with companions took 103 seconds
on average which was slower by 29% compared
to solo evacuees. This was thought to be due to
the psychological impact of having companions,
in that they felt more relieved and these mutual
feelings affected them to try to fnd safer ways,
and through this process, they were held back
in occupying a beneficial space for a speedy
evacuation.
4) Considering the fact that both female and male
participants who had visited the subway station
frequently were able to complete the evacuation
quickly, knowledge about the area they were in
was helpful in their evacuation. Male participants
evacuated 9% faster when they had knowledge
about t he area, whi l e femal e part i ci pant s
evacuated 21% faster when they had knowledge
about the area.
5) The average evacuat i on t i me of t he group
of participants who usually think about how
to escape a place was 86 seconds, while the
evacuation time of the group who do not usually
think about evacuation was 92 seconds on
average, which was 8% later than the other group
who had a good level of awareness.
6) The average evacuation time of the group of
participants who had knowledge of evacuation
procedures in a fire was 79 seconds, while the
average evacuation time of people who did not
have any knowledge was 93 seconds, which
was later by 18% than the other group who had
knowledge of the evacuation situation.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Dong-A University
research fund.
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