Effects of an engaging maintenance task on fire evacuation delays and presence in virtual reality

Abstract

The current study aims to investigate the capability of occupants of a powerhouse simulation to sense a fire and initiate evacuation while engaged with a task. For this reason, the study involved the maintenance task of replacing the air filter of a gas-powered engine through a series of instructions. The virtual reality-based accident causation model (VR-ACM) consisting of 3D modeling and simulation, accident causation, and safety training was adapted to address the study's aims. Two groups of participants were immersed in the virtual realm as occupants of the powerhouse to determine the pre-movement time and the evacuation duration under distinct scenarios. The first scenario constituted the experimental group (n = 26), who were assigned to replace the filters, while the second scenario (control n = 26) performed no task before the fire outbreak. An independent samples t-test revealed a significant difference in the pre-movement time of the groups, which suggested a decline in the perception of the experimental group due to the task. Further assessment revealed a consequential transfer of the delay at the pre-movement phase to the evacuation delay of the experimental group from the powerhouse. Secondly, the differences in interactivity implied that the experimental group exhibited a higher level of involvement and distraction in the Presence measurement than the control group. To this end, a virtual reality (VR) environment's performance and real-time functionality during a maintenance task simulation have been experimented with in an emergency fire evacuation scenario to ascertain safety concerns.