How to encourage fire-safe behavior in buildings

Building owners must instruct occupants so that they comply with the building’s fire safety regulations. But how do you get people to change their behavior and do the right thing?

Whether in a company, a housing association, a museum, or a nightclub, the fire safety challenge is the same: People usually do what feels easiest and most natural for them – without always thinking about the rules.

According to the Danish Building Regulations, a building owner is not only responsible for fire-protecting their buildings, but also for instructing users about the building’s fire safety rules. However, to ensure that users follow these rules, it is essential to understand why people behave as they do and what it takes to encourage appropriate fire-safe behavior.

Door wedges and storage in escape routes

When reviewing fire safety in buildings, the same types of rule violations often appear.

– For example, people place wedges in self-closing fire doors to keep them open. This compromises the building’s normal fire compartmentation and can lead to significantly faster fire spread in the event of a fire, says Alexander Skaarup-Bertelsen, Fire Safety Consultant at DBI, the Danish Institute of Fire and Security Technology.

– Another common mistake is storage placed in escape corridors, stairways, or technical rooms. People do not necessarily break the rules intentionally, but often because they lack space and do not know where else to put things. Everyday convenience therefore often takes priority over fire safety, he explains, and adds:

– At the same time, many people are simply unaware of how serious the consequences of their actions can be if a fire occurs. Stored items typically consist of combustible materials, and if such materials ignite in an escape route, it can quickly become impossible to exit that way. At the same time, it can affect the emergency services’ ability to gain access.

Understanding building users

According to Mette Marie Vad Karsten, Lead Anthropologist at DBI, people’s behavior is not always driven by what one might initially assume.

– People are not consciously stupid or irresponsible. They act according to an everyday logic that building owners do not always understand. Instead of drawing conclusions about people’s behavior without having the full picture, one should actually ’backtrack’ the problems being experienced. This helps reveal why people, for example, wedge doors open, and what it takes to change their behavior, Mette Marie Vad Karsten says, adding:

– If you approach people with a long list of rules and try to lecture them about their behavior, you simply come across as extremely annoying and rarely achieve the behavioral change you want. If, instead, you engage in dialogue, investigate the reasons behind people’s actions, and collaborate on solutions that make it easier to follow the rules, the likelihood of change is much greater. People are experts in their own lives and know best what works for them.

Differences between buildings

The measures needed to create behavioral change also depend on the type of building.

– People typically care more when it concerns their own home, while dedication is often lower in workplaces. On the other hand, companies may find it easier to get employees to comply with rules because they operate in a professional environment, says Mette Marie Vad Karsten, and continues:

– In buildings such as museums or other places where users are not regular occupants, entirely different approaches are needed. In these cases, nudging strategies are often required.

However, building owners’ instructional obligations are largely the same across most building types:

– With few exceptions, the same requirements for user instructions apply to almost all types of buildings. There are stricter requirements for building areas with special operational use, such as assembly spaces accommodating more than 150 people, explains Alexander Skaarup-Bertelsen.

What does the building invite people to do?

Human behavior depends not only on how well people are instructed and what type of building they are in, but also on how the building itself is designed.

– Actions do not reside only within people but also within their surroundings. In other words, the context makes choices for them as well, says Mette Marie Vad Karsten, giving an example:

– If you enter a train with a stroller and there is no space because three other strollers are already there, you may end up standing somewhere that blocks an emergency exit. Your action is not malicious, but is forced by the situation.

– The same applies to how people use buildings. Buildings must be designed for their intended use so that doing the right thing is easy and intuitive. If planners forget to account for needs such as storage rooms, copy rooms, cleaning rooms, etc., people will create their own solutions that were never part of the building’s original intention, says Mette Marie Vad Karsten