Panic is a misunderstood concept

NFPA Journal, May/Jun 2002 by Appy, Meri-K

outreach

Public safety education has made the difference in emergency behavior.

Panic. Webster's Dictionary defines it as "a sudden overpowering fright; esp: a sudden unreasoning terror often accompanied by mass flight." The word conjures up images of mass hysteria, uncontrolled fear, and "survival of the fittest" behavior. Whenever I'm interviewed by reporters or even asked by acquaintances about my job at NFPA, inevitably the questioner will use the word "panic" to describe how they believe people react when confronted by fire. But do they?

Not according to Guylene Proulx of the National Research Council of Canada, an active NFPA member and a leading researcher in the area of fire and human behavior. Despite what we read or see, says Dr. Proulx, "panic, which supposes irrational behavior for a situation, is rarely observed in fires.

Most people appear to apply rational decision-making in relation to their understanding of the situation at the time of the fire. Contrary to common belief, it appears that it's the lack of panic that characterizes most fires."

Dr. Proulx's colleague Rita F. Fahy, NFPA Fire Databases and Systems manager and another internationally respected scientist in this field, agrees with this assessment.

"It's important not to confuse 'anxiety' with `panic,' " Dr. Fahy says. "The people evacuating the World Trade Center attack in September almost certainly experienced great distress and concern in that situation. Yet we have many reports of altruistic behavior-people helping one another despite potential risk to themselves, evacuating in an orderly fashion, weighing different options.. actions that are inconsistent with the idea of uncontrolled, self-centered, or hysterical behavior."

Patricia Brennan at the Centre for Environmental Safety and Risk Engineering at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia, has been researching the relationship between people and fire for use in models for performance-based codes.

"Panic is often offered as an explanation for observed behavior, especially when the outcome of the behavior is negative," says Ms. Brennan.

In other words, one may mistakenly assume panic on the part of someone who's taken an action that later proves to have been ineffective in responding to a fire, when, in fact, the action was quite rational given the circumstances.

Dr. Proulx puts it this way: "Being fearful or tense doesn't prevent a person from thinking and making decisions."

She cites three reasons decision-making during a fire is different from everyday decision-making. More is at stake; information on which to base a decision is limited at the time; and time to make a decision is limited.

"If a person already has a plan of action, well thought through and discussed and practiced with family members, decisions will be much easier to make," says Dr. Proulx. "Education and training are the keys."

NFPA agrees. It's for this reason that all our public education programs emphasize the skills needed to assess the risk of fire accurately and take effective action to prevent and survive it.

NFPA provides many opportunities for people to learn critical fire safety skills.

The more we can help people grasp basic concepts and practice well-conceived plans in advance, the better their chances of making life-saving choices in a fire. Implementing proven educational programs to help people at home or at work is an essential fire survival tool.

MERI-K APPY

is NFPA's vice president of Public Education.