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Evacuation Behaviour of Deaf People

Soubra, Bilal LU (2026) In LUTVDG/TVBB VBRM05 20261
Division of Fire Safety Engineering
Abstract
Deaf and hard of hearing individuals encounter distinct barriers during building fire evacuations, yet empirical evidence on their evacuation behaviour remains largely absent from the Human Behaviour in Fire literature. This study addresses this gap through a mixed methods approach combining an unannounced evacuation drill conducted at an institution for deaf individuals (N = 21) with semi structured interviews (N = 6). The drill was analysed using four behavioural frameworks, namely the Role Rule Model, Affiliation Theory, Social Influence, and Social Identity Theory, alongside a quantitative analysis of pre-evacuation and total evacuation times. Interview data were analysed using inductive reflexive thematic analysis. The findings... (More)
Deaf and hard of hearing individuals encounter distinct barriers during building fire evacuations, yet empirical evidence on their evacuation behaviour remains largely absent from the Human Behaviour in Fire literature. This study addresses this gap through a mixed methods approach combining an unannounced evacuation drill conducted at an institution for deaf individuals (N = 21) with semi structured interviews (N = 6). The drill was analysed using four behavioural frameworks, namely the Role Rule Model, Affiliation Theory, Social Influence, and Social Identity Theory, alongside a quantitative analysis of pre-evacuation and total evacuation times. Interview data were analysed using inductive reflexive thematic analysis. The findings demonstrate that all four behavioural theories are applicable within the deaf group, with evacuation initiated and propagated exclusively through visual and social channels. Since the drill occurred while people were all in the same room, observed mean pre-evacuation time was low (approximately 12 s), with the observed distributional patterns remaining consistent with those reported for the general population (e.g. following lognormal distribution). The interview analysis identified three overarching themes: notification and built environment barriers, visual compensation, and lack of social support. Together, these findings reveal a built environment largely designed around the assumption of hearing occupants, while also highlighting the presence of genuine but context dependent compensatory capacities among deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Overall, the study provides one of the first empirical evacuation datasets specifically examining deaf and hard of hearing occupants in a building fire context, and highlights the need for inclusive emergency design strategies that account for the diverse functional profiles and communication needs of this population, thereby contributing to the growing body of knowledge on Egressibility. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Soubra, Bilal LU
supervisor
organization
course
VBRM05 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Deaf, Hard-of-hearing, Building evacuation, Pre-evacuation time, Human behaviour in fire, Unannounced evacuation drill, Behavioural theories, Thematic analysis, Fire safety engineering, Inclusive design
publication/series
LUTVDG/TVBB
report number
5763
other publication id
LUTVDG/TVBB—5763--SE
language
English
id
9230042
date added to LUP
2026-06-02 11:28:28
date last changed
2026-06-02 11:28:28
@misc{9230042,
  abstract     = {{Deaf and hard of hearing individuals encounter distinct barriers during building fire evacuations, yet empirical evidence on their evacuation behaviour remains largely absent from the Human Behaviour in Fire literature. This study addresses this gap through a mixed methods approach combining an unannounced evacuation drill conducted at an institution for deaf individuals (N = 21) with semi structured interviews (N = 6). The drill was analysed using four behavioural frameworks, namely the Role Rule Model, Affiliation Theory, Social Influence, and Social Identity Theory, alongside a quantitative analysis of pre-evacuation and total evacuation times. Interview data were analysed using inductive reflexive thematic analysis. The findings demonstrate that all four behavioural theories are applicable within the deaf group, with evacuation initiated and propagated exclusively through visual and social channels. Since the drill occurred while people were all in the same room, observed mean pre-evacuation time was low (approximately 12 s), with the observed distributional patterns remaining consistent with those reported for the general population (e.g. following lognormal distribution). The interview analysis identified three overarching themes: notification and built environment barriers, visual compensation, and lack of social support. Together, these findings reveal a built environment largely designed around the assumption of hearing occupants, while also highlighting the presence of genuine but context dependent compensatory capacities among deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Overall, the study provides one of the first empirical evacuation datasets specifically examining deaf and hard of hearing occupants in a building fire context, and highlights the need for inclusive emergency design strategies that account for the diverse functional profiles and communication needs of this population, thereby contributing to the growing body of knowledge on Egressibility.}},
  author       = {{Soubra, Bilal}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{LUTVDG/TVBB}},
  title        = {{Evacuation Behaviour of Deaf People}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}