Evacuation and its Types – Revision of the Definition and Classification

Objective: Evacuation is a broad concept encompassing many forms of movement in the event of an emergency. Definitions of evacuation are different in many standards and publications in the field of fire safety engineering. The introduction of a unified version of the definition will allow for a precise description of this process. The diversity of its forms and types in the literature on the subject requires the introduction of an appropriate classification. This will allow for systematization of various forms of evacuation and conducting more precise research on individual types of the evacuation process. Introduction: The evacuation process takes into account the possibility of moving not only people, but also animals and property from a place of danger to a currently safe place. It is a process that does not always take place in an organized or orderly way, and its effect is to leave the place of danger by all people. The complexity of the evacuation process allows it to be divided due to various forms, ways of conducting it, or objects subject to evacuation. In the literature on the subject, many definitions of various forms of evacuation have been formed, i.e. general, phase, organized, self-evacuation, indepen- dent, rescue, primary, gradual, selective, sequential, full, preventive, partial, successful, total, successful, successful, secondary, primary, intervention, managed, directed, unmanaged, I degree, II degree, III degree, etc. Methodology: The authors reviewed the available definitions of the concept of evacuation and proposed a new definition to describe the process in more general terms. In addition, the authors conducted a review of the forms of evacuation and its classification occurring in scientific publications within the national scope. As a result of the detailed analysis, a preliminary classification of individual determinations of the evacuation process was made. Conclusions: The concept of evacuation has a much broader meaning than the current definitions of this process. The analysis shows that evacuation should be defined as a process of moving people, animals or property from a place of danger to a place currently safe. For the purposes of this article, a total of more than 25 evacuation process determinations have been identified, which have been classified into 12 categories. Progress in many areas, i.e. construction, development of transport and urban infrastructure and the occurrence of public demonstrations/events, affects the need to verify existing definitions for the needs of new conditions. The publication aims to draw attention to the need to introduce a systematic analysis of the classification of the evacuation process. Such classification will allow for the proper identification of all kinds of variables that have different effects on different forms of this process. The introduction of such a division will allow the use of appropriate measures, tools and procedures to ensure an adequate level of human safety. The carried out categorization may be the basis for identifying the risks that may occur during individual forms of evacuation. Keywords: evacuation, evacuation definition, types of evacuation, fire safety Type of article: review article