소방방재대학원(석사과정)

Comparative Analysis of RSET in Elderly Care Homes Based on Evacuation Simulation and Actual Evacuation Experiment

Abstract

In elderly care homes, ensuring evacuation safety is a critical issue due to differences in residents’

mobility levels. This study examined the effects of spatial allocation of residents on evacuation efficiency in

an actual five-story elderly care home. A total of 122 older residents and 32 nursing staff members were

considered. The residents were classified into three groups: bedridden older adults, wheelchair users, and

independently ambulatory older adults. Based on this classification, four evacuation scenarios were

established. Evacuation simulations were conducted using Pathfinder, and the results were comparatively

analyzed with those obtained from an actual evacuation drill. The results showed that the spatial allocation

of residents had a substantial effect on the total evacuation time. In particular, the scenario in which

bedridden older adults were placed on the first floor, wheelchair users on the second floor, and

independently ambulatory residents on the upper floors reduced the evacuation time by approximately 18–36%

compared with the existing arrangement. In addition, the actual evacuation time was approximately 1.3

times longer than the simulation result. These findings demonstrate that floor-by-floor spatial allocation

based on residents’ mobility levels can effectively improve evacuation safety in elderly care homes.

Keyword: elderly care home; evacuation simulation; spatial allocation of residents; evacuation time; evacuation safety