Investigation and Analysis of Evacuation Behavior in a Large Shopping Mall

Investigating and analyzing emergency evacuation behavior is fundamental to ensuring safe evacuation in densely populated public buildings such as large shopping malls.The Xinglong Family shopping plaza was selected as the observation site.By way of a questionnaire survey and other data collection,correlation analysis was conducted on evacuation behavior using the professional statistics software SPSS17.0.Both gender and past emergency experience among respondents tightly correlated with evacuation behavior.Most males and those having prior experience with emergencies showed correct response and decision making during an emergency,while most females and those without past emergency experience were at a loss to know what to do in an emergency,becoming flustered and exhibiting a tendency to follow the crowd or act according to ordinary habits.Regularly scheduled fire drill are needed to provide a higher level of emergency experience for people in a shopping plaza and more emergency leadership experience for management,thereby improving emergency evacuation safety in large shopping malls.