Modelling self-reliance, evacuation and fire fighting activities during a large fire in a public building – a dynamic approach

Large fires in public buildings are rare events and their occurrence is hard to predict (Lin, 2005). Fires start as complex situations, in which a lot of processes take place. Fire fighting is a task oriented process that aims at controlling and extinguishing the fire. Getting people out of the building is another process that takes place. This is a partially spontaneous process, in which individuals themselves cope with the emergency (self-reliance), and partially an organised process that aims at getting people out of the burning building into safety (evacuation).