This is a Home Office summary report of live evacuation testing research conducted by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) to test the efficiency of evacuation strategies from high-rise residential buildings (HRRBs) using 5 live operational testing strategies. The Home Office derived this summary in its entirety from the original live evacuation testing research conducted by UCLan and reflects UCLan’s analysis and interpretation of the original dataset. This summary helps make findings accessible to a wide range of stakeholders in the fire and rescue service sector.

The Home Office derived the following research questions based on the methodology applied:
Research Question 1: Which strategies are likely to lead to the fastest evacuation of a high-rise residential building?
Research Question 2: To what extent do each of the evacuation strategies lead to congestion in stairwells?
Research Question 3: What impact do evacuees with impairments have on evacuations?
Research Question 4: What further factors could affect live evacuations from high-rise residential buildings?
Research Question 5: How accurately can Pathfinder modelling software simulate the live evacuation testing?

The study comprised live operational tests of 5 evacuation strategies between 3 and 6 May 2022, using fire and rescue service (FRS) staff and other volunteers from stakeholder groups to act as residents. The research tested 5 evacuation strategies of a HRRB during a fire incident when it becomes untenable to expect residents to remain in the building, and the FRS Officer in Charge (OIC) initiates a full evacuation.