The purpose of this research application is to improve the workforce's protection from urgent non-occupational infectious, environmental, or terrorist threats by improving our basic understanding of effective methods for evacuating individuals, specifically those with disabilities, from buildings and other settings in response to such threats. To accomplish the purpose of this research project, an innovative and cost-effective method, Agent-Based Modeling, will be developed for application as a new technology by a unique interdisciplinary research collaborative. This method will be used to examine the effect of evacuation methodologies on the dynamics of mass pedestrian flows (MPFs) during health-safety events in the built environment, as well as the effect of evacuation methodologies on the egress of individuals with disabilities. The effectiveness of evacuation methodologies in health-safety events has not been adequately studied due to the difficulty and expense of designing valid studies with high potential for application to diverse physical settings and contexts. Adequate provision for the safe evacuation of individuals with disabilities adds layers of complexity to an already-daunting task. Agent-Based Modeling is a powerful technology with enormous promise for applicability to the design of evacuation methodologies in health-safety events. Outcomes of the proposed research program will contribute greatly to the current body of knowledge through a more complete understanding of emergent population behaviors and MPFs which result from evacuation methodologies, their effects on the emergency egress of individuals with disabilities, and the evaluation of current practices in facilitating the egress of individuals from the built-environment during health-safety events. By addressing critical and fundamental gaps in our knowledge, the proposed research program will ultimately improve the effectiveness of planning for the emergency egress of individuals of all abilities from the build-environment during health-safety events, and decrease evacuation-related injuries and deaths for the workforce.
