Title: Staircase evacuation for public multi-storey housing in Malaysia

Authors: Nurul Liyana Hanapi; Sabarinah Sh Ahmad; Norhati Ibrahim; Azli Abd Razak

Addresses: Centre of Studies in Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Malaysia ' Centre of Studies in Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Malaysia ' Centre of Studies in Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Malaysia ' Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Malaysia

Abstract: There has been some concern about the evacuation safety aspects in public multi-storey housing in Malaysia. This paper aims to study the effects of increased occupancy towards evacuation duration in public multi-storey housing in Malaysia, to gain a better understanding of evacuation safety. The research methodology is through a simulation study. This paper focuses on the staircase availability and location, in relation to the increasing number of evacuees. The data analysed include the duration taken by occupants to reach safety and their movement patterns during evacuation through a simulation study. A 17-storey residential building is modelled and the effects of staircases with varied availability and locations on the evacuees are tested. Results show that higher number of occupancies and non-availability of the staircase could prolong the evacuation. Moreover, the location of staircases does not influence the evacuation time but contributes significant changes to the movement of the evacuees.

Keywords: staircase; escape route; evacuation; emergency; multi-storey housing; residential building; evacuation duration; evacuee movement; pathfinder; simulation; Malaysia.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESD.2020.108156

International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 2020 Vol.19 No.3, pp.258 - 268

Received: 12 May 2018
Accepted: 31 May 2019
Published online: 03 Jul 2020 *

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