Here’s an interesting question for you. Imagine you have a room full of people. In the middle of the length of one wall there is an emergency exit. Call an emergency and have everyone try to leave as quickly as possible through the exit. Time/count the amount of people that make it through the exit. Now repeat the same experiment, but put an obstruction in front of the emergency exit..like a stanchion or room divider. Do you wind up with more or less people exiting quickly? Surprisingly…more.
A very interesting article. TL;DR version…if you ‘obstruct’ the exit somehow, you reduce the number of avenues of approach which reduces congestion at the exit. You ‘funnel’ traffic more effectively.
I bring this up because, first of all it is fascinatingly counterintuitive, but also because I was thinking about the little habits we get into as survivalists (or, arguably, the little habits we should get into) and the one that I was reminded of was that whenever you enter any space (a building, a fenced area, a room, a theater, a mall, a bus, etc) one of the first things you should do is look for the alternate ways to get out of there other than the way you just came in. Most people do not do this. This means that when someone yells ‘fire’ in that crowded theater, 99% of the people are gonna run to where they came in….you, on the other hand, will head to the exit that is being virtually ignored. Which brought me to another interesting bit of data about emergency exits. Quick: what color is the exit sign? Red, right? Thats what we usually see. But in virtually everywhere else but North America exit signs are green. Why? Because almost universally red means ‘stop’ or ‘danger’, and green means ‘safe’ or ‘go’. So when you are engaged in looking for the exit sign, you have to be cognizant of the fact the exit could be green or red.
Another little known fact, but one that makes epic sense if you think about it: emergency doors must open outwards…and any entrance/exit that uses a revolving door must be flanked by conventional doors. Think about it…a crowd of panicked people surging against an exit door means if you had to pull it open, you’d die. And a revolving door is 50/50 even when there isn’t a panic. Where did these rules come from? Bad times in history.
A fascinating little rabbit hole I wound up in today as I was thinking about remembering to be more diligent about checking out where the exits are.
Safety regulations are written in the blood of the victims.
I’ve got my kids looking for cameras, AEDs, and exits. It’s a fun little game. I also remind them to look THRU the door or window as we approach, and before entering- you don’t want to walk in on a bad situation if you can help it.
A misspent youth has me always sitting where I can see the door, and with my back to something solid. My wife finally just decided to humor me and doesn’t even fight it when I want to change seats or won’t sit in a chair that faces the wrong way.
And despite all that, I’m still not awesome at checking the exit actually works and is clear.
nick
My wife knows to walk on my left side, keeping my right hand and what I might need in a hurry unobstructed…it’s the little things that can trip you up.
Tradecraft:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3s-ARmPVb8&t=309s
Not just for spies.
You will see this material again.
Revolving doors are required to be collapsible now; in an emergency the four panels fold into two and create an unobstructed passage.
I’ve been criticized (and ignored all of it) by “touring the site’ when in new spaces. In restaurants, I’ll refuse seating in bad spots and, once seated in a good one, excuse myself for a moment (ostensibly for, and usually assumed to be, for the rest room, although my Partner In Crime now knows better) and walk the place.
Where are the exits? What do they look like? Are they equipped with the killer “15 second delay” crash bars? What’s the clientele look like? I’ll wander into the kitchen and take a quick look around (acting confused helps, and if questioned claim I was looking for the pay phone and made a wrong turn).
If I have a chance, before entering I’ll do a quick outside recce, even just by driving around the building and looking for doors.
Same with hardware stores, grocery stores, etc. 60-90 seconds up front isn’t much, and then you’re prepared for every visit after that. Knowing which way to go out to avoid the panicked herd has value. (Question – since so many places have lots of glass, do you carry anything to break it and clear the pieces away so you could exit safely?)
I always carry (often, just enough…) cash to cover the food order in case I have to put money under the salt shaker and leave immediately.
It took a while to convince my Partner in Crime to not automatically park right in front of main entry doors and take a few seconds to survey the interior before entering.
Regarding Nick’s mention of AEDs, an absolutely stunning number of establishments do not have AEDs or have them locked away somewhere. (when the smiling young hostess is escorting you to your table, ask about AEDs….they won’t even know what one is). I bought my own to include with the range trauma kit for the gun classes I teach (I’m also a certified AED/CPR Instructor); haven’t started taking it to restaurants, but if someone starts selling an affordable compact version about the size of an IFAK I’d think about it.
I bought surplus AEDs and replaced the batteries and electrodes. I have one in my bathroom at home, and one for each truck.
Our HOA pool doesn’t have one, and when I mentioned it to a friend there, who has a history of cardiac issues, he told me he had one in his truck. That’s when I started looking for additional units for my vehicles.
They get hot in the truck and that degrades them faster, but having to replace them at 2 years instead of 3 is a minor thing.
n
My BIL is a long-time volunteer fireman in Northern NJ – the first thing he looks for upon entering any building (restaurant, market, movie theater) are the exits – and some places, like the buildings that house the NYC theaters he won’t even go inside – WAY too crowded and WAY to tough too get out of quickly. When I’m out somewhere, especially a restaurant, I want to know where all the exits are located, I want a clear path to an exit, and I ALWAYS wanna be facing the door.
Same here, always sit against the wall facing all exits that I see.
Great points.
Don’t forget less conventional exits, depending on your personal mobility. For example:
– Windows, and what is handy to break them if needed.
– Food counters/ serving areas/ concession stands almost always have service entrances, which may require climbing over counters to get to.
Ever been in a restaurant and noticed a table & chairs blocking a designated exit? Fire Marshall’s just love that.
Outswing exit door regulations actually originated from the Collinwood school fire of 1908.
I had a friend in high school whose Aunt was trapped in the Coconut Grove fore, she ran to the ladies rom and tried to go out through the window over the sink, she said she was stuck in the window, someone behind her pushed he so hard that she passed out next thing she knew she woke up in the alley behind the building,
I also heard a story that a group of people ran into the walk in freezer and waited out the fire there,
Some buildings have roll down fire shutters that drop when a fire alarm is triggered. They often seal off windows and openings to atriums and courtyards. Its important to identify these because they could potentially cut off your intended egress/escape route.
I work in a building that has these, happened to be there late one night when they were testing them.
They are MUCH faster than I expected.
Any Hollywood inspired “run and dive under the closing door” fantasies I had were crushed that night.
CZ, you never mentioned powered automatic doors, they remain closed during power outages and the customary “man doors” to the side become the only option. I haven’t seen revolving doors in years. TTFN
Revolving doors are still common in areas that get very cold.
All power operated doors (in the US) should have ‘break away’ releases when pushed on. Stanley sliding doors, very common on hotel entrances definitely do. There is usually a sticker saying something like “In an emergency push to open” on the door frame itself.
n
We have the Stanley doors. I’ve pushed them open a few ti.es, it isn’t terribly hard. Probably wouldn’t be fun with a mob pushing against you though…
We have revolving doors in Wisconsin, where it’s currently around -10F. About once a year I do a face plant in a revolving door that has failed to revolve.
The forecast high today in Dane County is minus three. I just made some chili and put it outside to cool before refrigerating it. I hope I have enough tequila on hand to generate the courage to retrieve the pot.
This isn’t new, there was a Cornell study on this done back in 2009.
https://arxiv.org/pdf/0906.0224v1.pdf
If it interests you, you may wan’t to google CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design).
We studied this fire in a safety course. Killed 100 people in ’03 because most people headed for the main exit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Station_nightclub_fire
I will always try an pick a table against a wall near a secondary exit. My latest OCD move is to have a good mix of bills (1’s, 5’s, 10’s, 20’s) with me so I can pay the tab and leave quickly.
I just plan to drop my backup $100 bill and bail.
We have a family phrase that means “Listen up, no arguing, just do what I tell you RIGHT F#CKING NOW and we’ll talk about it later.” The kids get reminded before we go into a group or event. They’re 11 and 9 now, but we’ve been using it for a few years. Did my ‘reminder brief’ before a street festival, and had to include my sibling and a couple of other friends because we were all walking together. Got a couple of odd looks from them but no one said anything. I don’t think they’d ever considered it. Used it for real one time to get the curious little monkeys to stay behind me and cover at the rodeo while some deputies did a felony search and arrest on a guy 100 feet from us. Kids did good.
n
Former GF used to get pissed at me when I occasionally used The Marine NCO Voice on her, telling her it was time to go NOW, until she saw the flaming nutjob (whose lack in volume control set off my radar) do a complete in-public flip-out meltdown 20 yards behind us at the register as we (including her 2 kinder) were beelining out the side door.
She very quietly said “Thank you” after that one, and never gave me any more grief for that again.
Some people are teachable.
A long time ago… back well before retirement when the wife and I had kid types in tow and I was working as a cop or in corrections we had a mini briefing when we went some where and when we stopped to get gas at a quick stop & rob store it became a family ‘joke’ – “What do we do if there is trouble inside?” Answer in a back seat chorus: ” If a gun comes out, hit the floor otherwise evacuate to the car!”
Never had to use it but it was good training – the son is still a lot more aware of surroundings than most yet today… daughter became / is clueless and foolish so fifty-fifty ain’t bad.
It is not always the exit but what is beyond it,a club in Chicago had a exit that lead to a downward stairway. The Police came in and peppersprayed the crowd causing a stampede,20+ died at the bottom of the stairs. Always look for the secondary exit, avoid the rush,keep on your feet,think fast and act.