Research conducted by Biamp Systems suggests that the UK public could be vulnerable in situations involving fire, flood or emergency drills. The study found that, out of the 2000 adult participants, only 17% were willing to seek help from officials in an emergency, while a mere 8% would look to others to lead them away from the situation – showing a greater trust in instinct rather than other people from the UK public. Over a third of participants did say that instructions delivered by an audio voiceover system would make them feel calmer. While altruism had predominance within the research, with 53% claiming they would help shepherd people to safety. Graeme Harrison, vice president of international sales at Biamp Systems – who was present at ISE 2012 – said “It’s great to see that people are prepared to help others get to safety in an emergency, but it is a cause for concern that so many would rather trust their instincts than heed official instructions. “We also found 16% of people don’t know how they would react, and these unknowns need to be catered for. When it comes to emergency evacuations, clarity of communication is absolutely vital. “Voice evacuation, where live instructions are given over loudspeakers providing clear instructions on how to exit the building, is invaluable in instances like these.” Places of work or study were found to be potentially at risk, with 20% of UK adults feeling that the alarms provoke more panic than discipline, and with just over one in ten unaware of what their workplace or study area alarm sounded like, the research suggests these area could become dangerous should an emergency situation erupt. Biamp Systems commissioned the research in anticipation of Integrated Systems Europe 2012, where it had many of its professional audio solutions on show. www.biamp.comwww.iseurope.org
