Study of Evacuation Techniques in the Event of a Night Fire at a Dementia Group Home - Method of Transferring Evacuees from Their Beds to the Floor

Abstract

Assuming a nighttime situation in a dementia group home, assistance operations were performed under the condition of 1 assistant, transfer from a supine position to the floor with full assistance, and a low bed (height = 0.4 m). Assistance operations were performed under combinations of 4 conditions: starting assistance from the head side, starting assistance from the foot side, female assistants with male evacuees, and male assistants with female evacuees. The assistance time was analyzed by dividing it into three operation phases, and it was found that the operation time of female assistants was longer. Further, when assistance was started from the head side, it took longer to pull the evacuee to the front of the bed, whereas when assistance was started from the foot side, it took longer to lower the evacuee from the bed to the floor. Since the purpose of the assistance operation was to evacuate evacuees from a fire, the experimental results and techniques of shortening the assistance time were examined. Considering that assistance may be given by people who do not have much strength, we showed the possibility of utilizing tools to reduce friction during the operation, such as slide sheets, to help pull an evacuee on the bed, to the front of the bed. As regards the assistance operation of lowering an evacuee from the bed to the floor, a technique was suggested of holding the evacuee's feet, pulling the buttocks to the front of the bed, and after placing the feet on the floor, lowering the evacuee onto the floor from the buttocks, followed by the waist, back, head and neck.Index Terms-evacuation technique, people unable to self-evacuate, dementia group home

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