impact of human factors in emergency evacuations during building fires: a systematic review

Background: effective emergency response programs are critical for minimizing casualties during fire incidents. this systematic review aims to identify and categorize the human factors affecting emergency evacuations in building fires, providing a comprehensive overview of current knowledge in this field.materials and methods: a comprehensive search was performed for english-language articles published between 2010 and 2022 across pubmed, science direct, and google scholar, following prisma guidelines. the initial search yielded 426 articles, of which 34 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria following rigorous screening and quality assessment. the final selection included 24 descriptive studies, seven experimental studies, two case studies, and one systematic review, with a concentration of 17 articles from china.results: the analysis identified six critical categories of human factors affecting emergency evacuations: demographic and physiological parameters, supportive evacuation tools, individual capabilities, stress and personal characteristics, human behavior, and emergency response plans. notably, stress and personal characteristics emerged as the most frequently discussed factors, highlighting their substantial impact on evacuation behavior and decision-making processes.conclusion: this systematic review underscores the significance of these six human factors in shaping effective emergency evacuations during fire incidents. insights from this review can inform the development of tailored evacuation strategies, particularly for vulnerable populations such as the elderly and individuals with health challenges. a multidisciplinary approach integrating psychology, sociology, and engineering perspectives is essential for ameliorating evacuation protocols, ultimately aiming to save lives and lower financial losses in emergencies.