Rita Fahy
Rita Fahy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1955 United States |
| Died | 2023 - 67 years |
| Alma mater | Ulster University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Evacuation, Human Behaviour in Fire |
| Institutions | National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), retired |
| Thesis | Human Behaviour in Fire (2000) |
Rita Fahy (October 4, 1955-July 12, 2023) was an Irish American expert in evacuation modelling and human behaviour in fire.[1][2] She carried out pioneering work in the field by developing one of the first evacuation models in history (Exit 89) and debunking the myths surrounding the panic concept in evacuation.[3][4] Fahy also made substantial contributions to data collection of human behaviour in fires and ran multiple evacuation investigations, developing one of the first evacuation databases for fire protection engineers.[5][6] She worked on the NFPA investigation on fatal firefighter injuries in the United States.[7][8][9]
Given her contribution to fire safety science, the Fire Technology journal published a special Issue to commemorate her life and work.[10]
Education
[edit]Fahy earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees at Northeastern University, graduating in 1978 with a degree in mathematics and in 1989 with a degree in industrial engineering (operations research).
She earned her PhD in Human Behaviour in Fire at the University of Ulster, graduating in 2000.
Career
[edit]Fahy spent her career at the National Fire Protection Association.[1] She was involved in lecturing in the IMFSE Human Behavior in Fire course at Lund University. She was involved in the development of new fire engineering standards with the International Organization for Standardization. She was appointed editor of Fire Safety Science News for the International Association for Fire Safety Science in 2014.[11] She developed one of the first evacuation models (EXIT89) to simulate building fire evacuations.[12] [13] Further, she made majior academic contribtuion in teaching and research to debunk the myths surrounding the panic concept in evacuation and for her pioneering work in developing the first databese for building evacuations.[4][14]
She retired from the NFPA around 2022.[2]
Selected papers
[edit]Fahy, R. F., & Proulx, G. (2001, March). Toward creating a database on delay times to start evacuation and walking speeds for use in evacuation modeling. In 2nd international symposium on human behaviour in fire (pp. 175-183). Boston, MA, USA.
Fahy, R. F. (1991). EXIT89: an evacuation model for high-rise buildings. In Fire Safety Science (pp. 815-823). Routledge.
Fahy, R. F., & Proulx, G. (1997, March). Human behavior in the world trade center evacuation. In International Association for Fire Safety Science, Fifth International Symposium (pp. 713-724).
Personal life
[edit]Fahy died on July 12, 2023, following the return of cancer.[2][10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "News". IMFSE. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ a b c "The Loss of NFPA'S Rita Fahy (The Secret List)". Firefighter Close Calls. 2023-08-07. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ Fahy, Rita F. (1991), "EXIT89: An Evacuation Model for High- Rise Buildings", Fire Safety Science, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9780203973493-80/exit89-evacuation-model-high-rise-buildings-rita-fahy, ISBN 978-0-203-97349-3, retrieved 2024-03-12
- ^ a b Fahy, Rita F.; Proulx, Guylène; Aiman, Lata (August 2012). "Panic or not in fire: Clarifying the misconception". Fire and Materials. 36 (5–6): 328–338. doi:10.1002/fam.1083. ISSN 0308-0501.
- ^ Canada, Government of Canada National Research Council (2024-03-12). "Toward creating a database on delay times to start evacuation and walking speeds for use in evacuation modeling - NRC Publications Archive". nrc-publications.canada.ca. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ DeLuca, Matthew (2012-09-12). "The Search for the Elusive 9/11 Surfer: Pasquale Buzzelli's Story on Discovery Channel". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ "Firefighter fatalities in the United States | NFPA". www.nfpa.org. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ NFPA's 2011 Firefighter Fatality Report with Rita Fahy, retrieved 2024-03-12
- ^ "NFPA statistics - Firefighter deaths by cause and nature of injury". www.nfpa.org. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ a b "Fire Technology". SpringerLink. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ Gollner, Michael (2014-07-08). "Dr. Rita Fahy Appointed Editor of Fire Safety Science News". International Association for Fire Safety Science. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ Fahy, R. "Exit 89-An Evacuation Model for High-Rise Buildings-Model Description and Example Applications" (PDF). IAFSS Proceedings.
- ^ PedestrianDynamics/EXIT89, Pedestrian Dynamics, 2024-10-30, retrieved 2024-10-30
- ^ Canada, Government of Canada National Research Council (2024-10-10). "Toward creating a database on delay times to start evacuation and walking speeds for use in evacuation modeling - NRC Publications Archive". nrc-publications.canada.ca. Retrieved 2024-10-10.