Presented by Jim Milke, University of Maryland

The level of fire safety provided in residential and commercial properties varies with the income level of a region. An initial research effort has been conducted to understand the fire safety challenges in informal settlements in developing countries. This presentation will provide an overview of the nature of the problem in these environments and shortcomings in infrastructure that pose challenges in making improvements. The presentation describes the development of evacuation models that could assist community leaders in providing improved evacuation pathways for occupants (as well as to facilitate fire department access).