Tag Archives: safety
Comments on the sinking of the MV Sewol 16 April 2014, Part 3: Playing the blame game or asking difficult questions — written by Prof Ed Galea, 23 April 2014 23:00
It is human nature to want to blame someone after a tragedy. But when a disaster of this magnitude occurs, it is time for a nation as a whole to reflect on its safety culture, and not simply blame a few individuals. We should be looking at the safety culture on board the Sewol, in the company that owns and runs the vessel, within the South Korean maritime industry and within South Korean culture as a whole. To address the real problem and ensure that this type of disaster never happens again, we must identify and address the root cause(s) of the problem and this is likely to be the result of a number of factors, beyond the actions of the Captain and crew. Continue reading
Posted in Evacaution, Ship Evacuation
Tagged evacuation, rescue, safety, safety briefing, Sewol, ship evacuation
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12 years on from 9/11
Twelve years after the collapse of the WTC towers, the far-reaching impact of the attacks is still being felt when it comes to the design of new high-rise buildings across the world. FSEG research is still on-going and the data we have collected, both on the mechanics of large-scale evacuation, and on the human behaviour issues, is being shared across the world, as a valuable international resource. Continue reading
Posted in 9/11, Evacaution
Tagged 9/11, building evacuation, crowd dynamics, elevator, evacuation, evacuation modelling, safety, stairs
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Aviation Accident Survival Rates — Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics
I think that the USA Today article represents an interesting line of inquiry into the issue of survivability in aviation accidents, but I don’t believe that the analysis presented addresses the whole picture and so can be misleading. Continue reading
Posted in aircraft crash, Aircraft Evacuation, Evacaution, Fire, survivability
Tagged aircraft crash, aircraft evacuation, evacuation, safety, statistics
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Kiss Nightclub Tragedy — More Information and some Simplified Analysis
Questions are being raised as to how many people were in the nightclub at the time of the incident. This will become an important issue as the inquiry into the disaster progresses as the level of club occupancy could be used as a factor in contributing to the severity of the disaster and hence in apportioning responsibility.
Another issue that has been raised is whether or not more exits would have made a material difference to the outcome. Given that the nightclub had only a third of the required number of exits, one has to wonder whether this would have made a material difference to the outcome.
To examine these issues I have done some simple analysis based on a number of assumptions and what the media are currently reporting.
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Posted in Evacaution, Fire
Tagged building evacuation, crowd disaster, evacuation, evacuation modelling, fire, fire modelling, Kiss Nightclub fire, safety
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Yet another Tragic Nightclub Fire!
Today we hear the news of a tragic nightclub fire in Brazil which has claimed the lives of at least 180 young people, with at least 200 more injured. I would not be surprised if the death toll rises, especially if the occupancy is more than 300. Large crowds, within a confined space, whose walls are clad with combustible PU foam, with limited means of egress, probably in the dark, a number of who are probably intoxicated and then allowing the use of pyrotechnics is a recipe for disaster. Indeed, building regulations and planning permission should not permit such death traps to exist in the first place and enforcement authorities should ensure that they do not occur. Continue reading
Posted in Evacaution, Fire
Tagged evacuation, evacuation modelling, fire, Football World Cup, Kiss Nightclub fire, nightclubs, Olympics, panic, safety
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Passenger Airline Safety Briefing
Airline safety briefings which are the most effective Continue reading
Posted in Aircraft Evacuation, Evacaution
Tagged aircraft evacuation, evacuation, safety, safety briefing
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Panic, what Panic?
On 19 Oct 2012 a B737 operated by Jet2 was on its take off roll when smoke was detected in the cabin. The Captain brought the aircraft to a quick stop and all 189 passengers evacuated the aircraft. I am … Continue reading
Posted in Aircraft Evacuation, Crowd Safety, Evacaution
Tagged aircraft evacuation, B737, BBC, evacuation, panic, safety
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FSEG YOUTUBE Channel passes quarter of a million video views
FSEG YOUTUBE Channel achieves quarter of a million video views Continue reading
Posted in Evacaution, Fire
Tagged evacuation, evacuation modelling, fire, fire modelling, safety
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FSEG at the “Human Behaviour in Fire” 2012 Conference
FSEG will be at the Human Behaviour in Fire conference next week (19-21 Sept 2012) in Cambridge UK and will be presenting 7 papers. Continue reading
Posted in Crowd Safety, Evacaution, Fire, Ship Evacuation
Tagged building evacuation, crowd disaster, evacuation, evacuation modelling, love parade, safety
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Preventable Disaster in Karachi
Modern building design, fire fighting technology, regulation and enforcement should have prevented a fire in a Karachi clothing factory from becoming a disaster.
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Posted in Evacaution, Fire
Tagged Ali Enterprises, evacuation, fire, Karachi, safety, Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
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