[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 139 (Wednesday, July 20, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 43265]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-18190]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Evacuation 
Movement and Behavior Questionnaire

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before September 19, 
2011.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Diana Hynek, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Erica Kuligowski, [email protected], 301-975-
2309.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    NIST will be collecting data on evacuation behavior and movement of 
occupants from approximately 50 high-rise building evacuation drills in 
cities across the United States at a rate of several buildings per 
year. The proposed data collection will consist of questionnaires that 
will be handed out to occupants who have evacuated previously-
identified high-rise buildings as a part of a scheduled evacuation 
drill. The purpose of these questionnaires is to obtain information 
(anonymously) on: (1) The background of the occupant (occupant 
demographics, previous training and education in fire safety, and 
previous experience in fire evacuations); (2) actions and decisions 
made by the occupant on his/her floor during the building evacuation; 
and (3) actions and decisions made by the occupant during the building 
evacuation via the stairs and/or elevators. This information is 
necessary to better inform building and life safety code requirements, 
building occupant education and training about fire safety, and tools 
that are currently used to assess the life safety of tall buildings in 
the United States.
    High-rise buildings of interest include buildings of varying 
heights (e.g., 1-10 stories, 11-20 stories, 21-35 stories, and 35+ 
stories) and of varying occupancy types (e.g., residential, office, and 
assembly occupancies).

II. Method of Collection

    This data will be collected via paper questionnaires that are 
handed out by the city or building's fire department staff or NIST 
staff to occupants after the scheduled evacuation drill has taken 
place. The questionnaires will be returned to fire department staff or 
each questionnaire will be equipped with a NIST-addressed envelope and 
pre-paid postage.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0693-0051.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a currently 
approved information collection).
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 20,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,334.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: July 14, 2011
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-18190 Filed 7-19-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P