For our client, the city of Rosenheim, we conducted an evacuation simulation for their ice hockey stadium (emilo-Stadion). The external staircase of the stadium was built in 1961 and had to be reconstructed. Because of these missing escape ways during reconstructions, the available width of evacuation routes was highly minimized which is why the attendance had to be reduced extensively to meet the requirements of the VStättV (german venue regulations). accu:rate performed a evacuation simulation in order to test, if and to what extent the shortfall of these escape ways would affect the evacuation time and how many visitors can be admitted to the stadium.
"Finally we know, how many people can be evacuated in what time and how big the additional staircase has to be as emergency exit.“
Michael Hartmann, Leiter der Abteilung Bauunterhalt und Betrieb der Stadt Rosenheim
The following questions were analyzed
- How long does it take to evacuate the stadium with planned attendance?
- Are there any bottlenecks and where do they occur?
- How long do the jams last?
We came to the conclusion that the escape ways of the main entrance are not used to capacity if the attendance is highly reduced as it is mandated by the VStättV. This is mainly due to the fact, that visitors' flow could already be highly reduced in the seating area of the stadium when the evacuation started.
More people doesn't necessarily mean higher evacuation time
Hence we tested a higher attendance to reach the maximum occupancy of the stadium during reconstruction. Because of the higher utilization of the main escape way, a higher occupancy of the stadium could be reached without increasing the total evacuation time.
This is a good example for the fact that higher occupancy of a building or venue doesn't necessarily have an impact on the evacuation time.
Image source: accu:rate.