Behavioral and Organizational Dimensions of Underground Mine Fires

By Vaught, Charles

Book Id: WPLBN0000178127
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 1.32 MB
Reproduction Date: 2005

Title:	Behavioral and Organizational Dimensions of Underground Mine Fires
Author:	Vaught, Charles
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Health., Medical research, Medical reports
Collections:	Medical Library Collection
Historic Publication Date:
Publisher:	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Citation APA MLA Chicago Vaught, B. C. (n.d.). Behavioral and Organizational Dimensions of Underground Mine Fires. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Excerpt
INTRODUCTION: How do people behave when they are trying to get out of a fire? Are escape activities different in each incident, or will most actions be predictable across events? Do persons make the same sorts of decisions whether they are responding as individuals or as group members? Because the social costs of fire-related deaths and injuries are likely to continue to rise, societal pressure for greater safety will also undoubtedly increase. There are, therefore, compelling reasons to further our understanding of action in fires. If human behavior in fire is studied scientifically and predicted according to some well-defined principles, the benefits will be significant. Design engineers could incorporate real-world findings into their plans. Equipment manufacturers could gain from insights into how their technology is actually used in fire emergencies. Safety personnel would have a better appreciation of what constitutes adequate evacuation procedures. Trainers could upgrade the content of their courses that teach escape skills. The result would be an overall improvement in the quality of fire preparedness and safety.

Table of Contents
CONTENTS Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Chapter 1.—Review of supporting research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Fire and human behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Collectivities and small groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Decision-making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Chapter 2.—Overview of the underground environment and study settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 The organizational and technical nature of mining . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Mine dangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 The training process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Outside organizations and the mine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 The study settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Chapter 3.—Research design and sample profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 The nature of groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Research strategy and method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Profile of the sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Escape profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Chapter 4.—Examination of group behavior during mine fire escapes 50 Group characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Escape group formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Counterexamples to escape group behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Emergency evacuation ramifications of group behavior . . . . . . . . 58 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Chapter 5.—A model of the judgment and decision-making process in mine fires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Using judgment and decision-making skills in a mine fire . . . . . . 61