Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915
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Item Comparative analysis of fire evacuation decision-making in immersive vs. non-immersive virtual reality environments(Elsevier B V, 2025-11-01) Zhang Y; Paes D; Feng Z; Scorgie D; He P; Lovreglio RUnderstanding emergency behavior is crucial for designing safer, resilient infrastructure. Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) realistically simulates emergencies but is resource-intensive, so systematic comparisons with non-immersive VR remain scarce. To address this gap, a multifactorial VR fire-evacuation experiment was conducted in which participants navigated a room with three exits under varied conditions (e.g., social influence, smoke presence, exit distance, exit familiarity). Results indicated no significant difference in overall decision-making between immersive and non-immersive VR. Nevertheless, immersion modulated key factors: in immersive VR, participants preferred nearer exits, were more susceptible to social influence, and experienced stronger effects of smoke and exit familiarity. Smoke also reduced the influence of exit distance. Personal factors (e.g., prior VR experience, age, gender) shaped perceptions and emotions; heightened negative emotions and perceived risk were associated with less rational (i.e., suboptimal) choices, particularly in immersive VR. These insights inform VR safety training, guiding simulations that more faithfully replicate real emergencies.Item A Virtual Reality Exit Choice Experiment to Assess the Impact of Social Influence and Fire Wardens in a Metro Station Evacuation(Springer Nature, 2025-05-19) Lu S; Rodriguez M; Feng Z; Paes D; Daemei AB; Vancetti R; Mander S; Mandal T; Rao KR; Lovreglio RAssessing evacuation time is a fundamental task in fire engineering. One of the key decisions made in evacuation dynamics is exit choice. In this work, we propose a new immersive virtual reality (VR) experiment to assess the effects of social influence and fire wardens’ instructions on the exit chosen. We also investigate if and how the perceived level of authority of the fire wardens (i.e., metro staff members or firefighters) can affect these decisions. The proposed immersive VR experiment includes 12 different scenarios during a fire evacuation in an underground metro station. A sample of 131 participants took part in the experiment, making 1048 choices. We estimate a discrete choice model to quantify if and how these factors affect the participants’ decisions. The results show that both instructions by fire wardens and social influence significantly affect exit choice and that the impact of fire wardens can change depending on their perceived level of authority.Item Can active and passive wayfinding systems support fire evacuation in buildings? Insights from a virtual reality-based experiment(Elsevier B.V., 2023-05-24) Bernardini G; Lovreglio R; Quagliarini E; D'Orazio MOccupant safety in case of building fires depends on the selection of proper evacuation routes. Today, several passive and active Emergency Wayfinding Systems (EWSs) have been proposed to support occupant route choices. Nevertheless, their effectiveness should be accurately assessed before being manufactured and used. In this sense, Virtual Reality (VR) could support the design and preliminary evaluation phases, using the Theory of Affordances to quantitatively verify if the EWSs are correctly visible, understood, and able to support users in fulfilling the evacuation goal. This work hence aims at comparing the efficiency of different EWSs in terms of the Theory of Affordances through a VR experiment involving more than 70 volunteers of different ages. The experimental setup focuses on three types of EWSs (punctual and photoluminescent; passive, continuous and photoluminescent; continuous and active) and lights-on, lights-off and smoke conditions in an educational building. Results mainly indicate that the passive EWSs receive a higher rating while supporting the direction selection, while the active EWS is more effective along mono-directional paths. The work also confirms the capabilities of the proposed combined affordances-based and VR-based approach, boosting future works and suggesting additional comparisons between real-world and VR experiments on emergency wayfinding tasks and systems.Item Determinants of Gaps in Human Behaviour in Fire Research(Springer Nature, 2024-08-08) Ronchi E; Kapalo K; Bode N; Boyce K; Cuesta A; Feng Y; Galea ER; Geoerg P; Gwynne S; Kennedy EB; Kinateder M; Kinsey M; Kuligowski E; Köster G; Lovreglio R; Mossberg A; Ono R; Spearpoint M; Strahan K; Wong SDThis short communication presents the findings of the work conducted by the human behaviour in fire permanent working group of the International Association for Fire Safety Science. Its aim is to identify determinants of research gaps in the field of human behaviour in fire. Two workshops were conducted in 2023 in which research gaps were identified and discussed by twenty experts. The workshops led experts through a series of questions to determine the reasons (or determinants) for these gaps in human behaviour in building fires and wildfires. Through the questions, the primary identified determinants were (1) researchers’ literacy in the variety of methods adopted in the field, (2) difficulties associated with recruitment of study participants, (3) multi-disciplinary barriers across different research sub-domains, and (4) issues in obtaining funding for addressing fundamental human behaviour in fire research questions. Two key issues emerged from an open discussion during the workshops, namely the difficulties in attracting and training new people in the field (given the limited educational offers around the world on the topic) and the need for more regular opportunities for the community to meet.Item Social vulnerabilities and wildfire evacuations: A case study of the 2019 Kincade fire(Elsevier B.V., 2024-05-31) Sun Y; Forrister A; Kuligowski ED; Lovreglio R; Cova TJ; Zhao XVulnerable populations (e.g., populations with lower income or disabilities) are disproportionately impacted by natural hazards like wildfires. It is crucial to develop equitable and effective evacuation strategies to meet their unique needs. While existing studies offer valuable insights, we need to improve our understanding of how vulnerabilities affect wildfire evacuation decision-making, as well as how this varies spatially. The goal of this study is to conduct an in-depth analysis of the impacts of social vulnerabilities on aggregated evacuation decisions, including evacuation rates, delay in departure time, and evacuation destination distance by leveraging large-scale GPS data generated by mobile devices. Specifically, we inferred evacuation decisions at the level of the census block group, a geographic unit defined by the U.S. Census, utilizing GPS data. We then employed ordinary least squares and geographically weighted regression models to investigate the impacts of social vulnerabilities on evacuation decisions. We also used Moran's I to test if these impacts were consistent across different block groups. The 2019 Kincade Fire in Sonoma County, California, was used as the case study. The impacts of social vulnerabilities on evacuation rates show significant spatial variations across block groups, whereas their effects on the other two decision types do not. Additionally, unemployment, a factor under-explored in previous studies, was identified as contributing to both an increased delay in departure time and a reduction in destination distance of evacuees at the aggregate level. Furthermore, upon comparing the significant factors across different models, we observed that some of the vulnerabilities contributing to evacuation rates for all residents differed from those affecting the delay in departure time and destination distance, which only applied to evacuees. These new insights can guide emergency managers and transportation planners to enhance equitable wildfire evacuation planning and operations.Item Analyzing Risk Perception, Evacuation Decision and Delay Time: A Case Study of the 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado(Elsevier B.V., 2023-12-11) Forrister A; Kuligowski ED; Sun Y; Yan X; Lovreglio R; Cova TJ; Zhao XClimate change is increasing the threat of wildfires to populated areas, especially those within the wildland-urban interface (WUI). The 2021 Marshall fire forced the evacuation of over 30,000 people in Boulder, Jefferson and Adams Counties in Colorado, US. To improve our understanding of wildfire evacuation response, we surveyed individuals affected by the Marshall fire to analyze their evacuation decisions and resulting behavior. We used linear and logistic regression models to determine the factors influencing individuals’ risk perceptions, their decisions to evacuate or stay, and the associated evacuation delay times. We found higher levels of risk perception at the time of the evacuation decision were associated with higher levels of pre-fire perceived risk, having mid-level household income, the receipt of fire cues and having a medical condition. Increased pre-event risk perception increased the likelihood of evacuating, along with gender (female-identified), being aged between 55 and 64 years, and having a higher household income. On the other hand, having a prior awareness of wildfires had a negative effect on evacuation likelihood. Additionally, having previous experience with fire damage, owning their home, having a larger household size and being alerted later in the fire event reduced the delay time; whereas engaging in preparation activities and having children in the home led to longer delay times. These research findings can be used by emergency managers to better prepare WUI communities for future wildfire events.Item Investigating office buildings evacuations using unannounced fire drills: The case study of CERN, Switzerland(2021-10-01) Rahouti A; Lovreglio R; Dias C; Kuligowski E; Gai G; La Mendola SThe main objective of this paper is to explore evacuees’ behaviour during an unannounced fire drill using data collected in two office buildings located at CERN, in Switzerland. Overall, a total of 142 pre-evacuation time measurements, 121 evacuee walking speed measurements in staircase configurations, and 336 evacuee walking speed measurements on floor configurations are included in the dataset. These data were compared with the existing evacuation data for office buildings. This comparison revealed that the pre-evacuation times measured in the present study are significantly lower compared to existing data from the literature for the same type of occupancy. Walking speed data collected in corridors in the present study is within the range of the values reported in previous studies. Further, walking speeds on descending stairways measured in the present study were significantly higher than those available in the literature. However, the novel dataset presented in this study is in accordance with the values recommended in well-known guidelines (such as the SFPE Handbook) and could be used in the future to simulate evacuations of office buildings.Item Calibrating the Wildfire Decision Model using hybrid choice modelling(Elsevier Ltd, 2020-11) Lovreglio R; Kuligowski E; Walpole E; Link E; Gwynne SWildfire occurrences is creating serious challenges for fire and emergency response services and a diverse range of communities around the world due to the increment of the occurrence of these disasters. As such, understanding the physical and social dynamics characterizing wildfires events is paramount to reduce the risk of these natural disasters. As such, one of the main challenges is to understand how households perceive wildfires and respond to them as part of the evacuation process. In this work, the Wildfire Decision Model originally proposed in Lovreglio et al. [1] is calibrated using a hybrid choice model formulation. The Wildfire Decision Model is a newly developed behavioural choice model for large-scale wildfire evacuations based on the estimation of the risk perceived by households and the impact that this has on the decision-making process. This model is calibrated using a hybrid choice modelling solution and survey data collected after the 2016 Chimney Tops 2 wildfire in Tennessee, USA. The proposed model shows good agreement with the preliminary findings available in the wildfire evacuation literature; namely, the perceived risk is affected by both external factors (i.e., warnings and fire cues) and internal factors (i.e., education, previous wildfire evacuation experience and time of residency in a property).Item Investigating Evacuation Behaviour in Retirement Facilities: Case Studies from New Zealand(1/05/2021) Rahouti A; Lovreglio R; Nilsson D; Kuligowski E; Jackson P; Rothas FAgeing populations are generating new challenges for the safe design of buildings and infrastructure systems in communities around the world. Elderly building occupants are more likely to have mobility impairments, and in turn, require longer times and increased assistance to evacuate buildings compared with able-bodied adults. To date, only a few studies have been carried out to assess the evacuation performance of elderly evacuees in retirement homes. Therefore, it is necessary to collect critical evacuation data, such as pre-evacuation times and evacuation speeds, for these occupancy types. This work investigates the evacuation behaviour of elderly evacuees and caretaking staff using video recordings of evacuation in retirement facilities. The paper presents three case studies. The first case study includes unannounced drills, which took place in communal areas of retirement homes during a live music exhibition and in a kitchen. The second case study is a series of unannounced drills, which took place in independent living apartment buildings of a retirement facility. The last case study is of a single announced evacuation drill, which took place in a communal area of a retirement building. Qualitative results indicate that the occupants’ behaviours depended on their role (i.e. resident or staff) and on the type of monitored area (i.e. apartment building or communal area). Pre-evacuation times measured in this study are in accordance with values stated in the literature, and walking speeds fall in the range of values reported in past studies of these types of building. Finally, results revealed that there is a significant gap between the data provided in this work and the SFPE design curves used for buildings, since the SFPE design curves do not explicitly account for adults with mobility impairments.