Fire Safety in High-Rise Buildings: Is the Stay-Put Tactic a Misjudgement or Magnificent Strategy?

Arewa, Andrew Oyen and Ahmed, Abdullahi and Edwards, David J. and Nwankwo, Chizaram (2021) Fire Safety in High-Rise Buildings: Is the Stay-Put Tactic a Misjudgement or Magnificent Strategy? Buildings, 11 (8). e339. ISSN 2075-5309

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Abstract

Historically, fire incidents in high-rise buildings reveal that Fire and Rescue Services frequently rely on the stay-put tactic (i.e., occupants of high-rise buildings should remain in their apartments) during an inferno. Recent fire occurrences in high-rise buildings reveal that there are two opposing viewpoints on the stay-put tactic. First, the understanding that the stay-put tactic is a beneficial practice used to protect, control, and facilitate smooth evacuation of occupants during fire incidents. Second, the argument that the stay-put tactic is a misjudgement and futile strategy that leads to fatalities, particularly in high-rise buildings. The aim of this study was to provide awareness and understanding of fire and rescue services use of the stay-put tactic in high-rise buildings. We attempted to answer the questions: is the stay-put tactic a misjudgement or magnificent strategy? The study adopted phenomenological research strategies with various focus groups consisting of seasoned firefighters and survivors with first-hand accounts of stay-put instructions in high-rise buildings. The study also scrutinised three case studies of fire incidents in high-rise buildings in two countries. The study revealed that the stay-put tactic is obsolete; with the potential to cause catastrophic misjudgement, mostly during conflagrations in high-rise buildings. There is a need to advance research on the use of artificial intelligence communication systems and infrared image detectors camera to enhance quick and smooth fire evacuation in high-rise buildings.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	** From MDPI via Jisc Publications Router ** History: accepted 27-07-2021; pub-electronic 06-08-2021. ** Licence for this article: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080339
Dates:	Date Event 27 July 2021 Accepted 6 August 2021 Published
Uncontrolled Keywords:	fire and rescue services, high-rise buildings, stay-put tactic, fire safety
Subjects:	CAH10 - engineering and technology > CAH10-01 - engineering > CAH10-01-01 - engineering (non-specific)
Divisions:	Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment > School of Engineering and the Built Environment
SWORD Depositor:	JISC PubRouter
Depositing User:	JISC PubRouter
Date Deposited:	18 Aug 2021 10:52
Last Modified:	12 Jan 2022 13:01
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/12025

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