IDENTIFICATION OF THE FEATURES OF EVACUATION OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN OF DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS

Abstract

This paper investigates evacuation procedures for preschool children aged 2–3 and 4–6 years, employing an individual-based flow model to accurately estimate evacuation times. Preschool-age children are particularly vulnerable during fires or other emergencies due to their limited mobility, diminished orientation skills, smaller anthropometric dimensions, and dependence on adults for guidance and physical assistance.
Currently, Ukrainian regulations prescribe uniform evacuation parameters and movement speeds for all preschool age groups. However, these parameters fail to account for critical developmental and physical differences between toddlers (aged 2–3 years) and older preschool children (aged 4–6 years). Existing literature has extensively explored evacuation dynamics for older preschoolers, yet data on younger children's evacuation characteristics remain scarce, potentially resulting in inaccuracies in evacuation time estimates and compromising overall safety measures.
This research addresses this significant gap by conducting a comprehensive analysis of current regulations, reviewing pertinent literature, and evaluating recent experimental data. A numerical simulation was performed using standard layouts of a typical two-story nursery school designed to accommodate approximately 200 children and 41 staff members. The model incorporated evacuation scenarios involving internal and external staircases. Simulations were conducted in two distinct scenarios: one applying uniform regulatory movement parameters across both age groups, and another using empirically derived, age-specific parameters for younger children (2–3 years).
The study findings underscore the necessity of age-specific movement parameters. Results demonstrated a notable increase of approximately 35.8% in total evacuation time when age-specific parameters for younger preschoolers were applied. Specifically, evacuation times rose from 81 seconds to 110 seconds, emphasizing the critical importance of tailoring evacuation parameters to accurately reflect age-specific capabilities, thus enhancing safety measures for preschool children during emergencies.
The research findings carry significant practical implications for fire safety management and emergency preparedness in preschool educational institutions. The implementation of differentiated movement parameters can substantially improve evacuation planning accuracy, inform architectural design optimization, enhance evacuation route efficiency, and guide targeted staff training and preparedness initiatives. Furthermore, given the increased frequency and urgency of evacuations in conflict-affected regions such as Ukraine, precise estimation of evacuation times is essential for safeguarding children and effectively mitigating risks during emergencies.
Future research will involve controlled experimental evacuations to collect empirical data on movement speeds, flow densities, and capacities of children aged 2–3 and 4–6. These studies will also examine the impact of specific architectural elements, such as external evacuation stairs (type C3), to refine regulatory guidelines further and improve emergency preparedness protocols within preschool educational facilities.