Experimental Study on Panic during Simulated Fire Evacuation Using Psycho- and Physiological Metrics

Kaifeng Deng, Meng Li, Guanning Wang, Xiangmin Hu, Yan Zhang, Huijie Zheng, Koukou Tian and Tao Chen
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Kaifeng Deng: Department of Engineering Physics, Institute of Public Safety Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Meng Li: Department of Engineering Physics, Institute of Public Safety Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Guanning Wang: Department of Engineering Physics, Institute of Public Safety Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Xiangmin Hu: Department of Engineering Physics, Institute of Public Safety Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Yan Zhang: Department of Engineering Physics, Institute of Public Safety Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Huijie Zheng: Department of Engineering Physics, Institute of Public Safety Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Koukou Tian: Department of Engineering Physics, Institute of Public Safety Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Tao Chen: Department of Engineering Physics, Institute of Public Safety Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: Under circumstances of fire, panic usually brings uncertainty and unpredictability to evacuation. Therefore, a deep understanding of panic is desired. This study aims to dig into the underlying mechanism of fire evacuation panic by measuring and analysing psycho- and physiological indicators. In the experiment, participants watched a simulated train station within which three sets of stimuli were triggered separately. Eye movement and brain haemodynamic responses were collected during the watch, while questionnaires and interviews of emotions were conducted after. The analysed physiological indicators include the amplitude of pupil dilation, the time ratios of fixation and saccade, the binned entropy of gaze location, and the brain activation coefficients. The results of this research indicate that fire evacuation panic can be broken down into two elements. (1) Unawareness of situation: less knowledge of the situation leads to a higher level of panic; (2) Intensity of visual stimulation: the panic level is escalated with increased severity of fire that is perceived.

Keywords: public safety; fire evacuation; panic; eye movement; haemodynamics; statistical analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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