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Fire evacuation training : Perceptions and attitudes of the general public

Menzemer, Leo Willem LU orcid ; Vad Karsten, Mette Marie ; Gwynne, Steve LU ; Frederiksen, Janne and Ronchi, Enrico LU orcid (2024) In Safety Science 174.
Abstract
This article presents an online survey with 323 respondents and 28 semi-structured interviews performed to investigate people’s perceptions of fire evacuation training and their attitudes towards it. The survey results showed that respondents with experience in fire evacuation training judge a fire in buildings that feature non-combustible materials to be more severe than other people, but no effects towards the willingness to live on higher building floors are observed in the data. Significant positive training effects are found towards individual perceived familiarity with safety procedures and perceived personal responsibility in fire safety. Inductive thematic analysis of the interviews resulted in the identification of four main... (More)
This article presents an online survey with 323 respondents and 28 semi-structured interviews performed to investigate people’s perceptions of fire evacuation training and their attitudes towards it. The survey results showed that respondents with experience in fire evacuation training judge a fire in buildings that feature non-combustible materials to be more severe than other people, but no effects towards the willingness to live on higher building floors are observed in the data. Significant positive training effects are found towards individual perceived familiarity with safety procedures and perceived personal responsibility in fire safety. Inductive thematic analysis of the interviews resulted in the identification of four main themes that participants reflected in connection to evacuation training, namely 1) risk perception, 2) aspects that would improve fire evacuation training, 3) perceived benefits and challenges of fire evacuation training, 4) experience and anticipated behaviours during a fire evacuation scenario. Evidence of positive effects on participants’ perceived preparedness through fire evacuation training are found in the quantitative and qualitative data alike. Results from the survey show a positive correlation between perceived preparedness and perceived training quality which should thus be considered further (e.g., lack of perceived urgency and seriousness of the simulated training situations). Interviewees reported early-age education in fire evacuation training to play a crucial role in retaining knowledge. These findings suggest the importance of considering the general public when designing fire evacuation training to ensure effectiveness and acceptance of training in practice. (Less)
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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Evacuation, Training, Fire, Safety Training, Fire Drills, Risk Perception, Attitudes, General Public, Survey, Qualitative Research, Interviews
in
Safety Science
volume
174
pages
12 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85186592052
ISSN
0925-7535
DOI
10.1016/j.ssci.2024.106471
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6db5d96e-a077-4623-b26d-73022abf3b91
date added to LUP
2024-03-02 14:11:11
date last changed
2024-03-14 14:33:03
@article{6db5d96e-a077-4623-b26d-73022abf3b91,
  abstract     = {{This article presents an online survey with 323 respondents and 28 semi-structured interviews performed to investigate people’s perceptions of fire evacuation training and their attitudes towards it. The survey results showed that respondents with experience in fire evacuation training judge a fire in buildings that feature non-combustible materials to be more severe than other people, but no effects towards the willingness to live on higher building floors are observed in the data. Significant positive training effects are found towards individual perceived familiarity with safety procedures and perceived personal responsibility in fire safety. Inductive thematic analysis of the interviews resulted in the identification of four main themes that participants reflected in connection to evacuation training, namely 1) risk perception, 2) aspects that would improve fire evacuation training, 3) perceived benefits and challenges of fire evacuation training, 4) experience and anticipated behaviours during a fire evacuation scenario. Evidence of positive effects on participants’ perceived preparedness through fire evacuation training are found in the quantitative and qualitative data alike. Results from the survey show a positive correlation between perceived preparedness and perceived training quality which should thus be considered further (e.g., lack of perceived urgency and seriousness of the simulated training situations). Interviewees reported early-age education in fire evacuation training to play a crucial role in retaining knowledge. These findings suggest the importance of considering the general public when designing fire evacuation training to ensure effectiveness and acceptance of training in practice.}},
  author       = {{Menzemer, Leo Willem and Vad Karsten, Mette Marie and Gwynne, Steve and Frederiksen, Janne and Ronchi, Enrico}},
  issn         = {{0925-7535}},
  keywords     = {{Evacuation; Training; Fire; Safety Training; Fire Drills; Risk Perception; Attitudes; General Public; Survey; Qualitative Research; Interviews}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Safety Science}},
  title        = {{Fire evacuation training : Perceptions and attitudes of the general public}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2024.106471}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.ssci.2024.106471}},
  volume       = {{174}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}