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2019
Research project concerning evacuation from high-rise construction sites.

Society of Fire Protection Engineers (UK) Best Research Project for 2019 Award

2017
A paper co-authored by Prof Galea, entitled, ‘Numerical Investigation of the Fatal 1985 Manchester Airport B737 Fire’, which appeared in the Aeronautical Journal was selected as the best research publication to appear in 2017.

Winner, Royal Aeronautical Society’s Gold Award 2017

2014
In 2014 a project conceived and managed by Prof Galea concerned with the development of a novel concept in emergency signage called, ‘Active Dynamic Signage System’ won The Guardian University Award for Research Impact.

Winner, The Guardian University Award for Research Impact 2014

A naval damage incident recoverability toolset: Assessing naval platform recoverability after a fire event

Hospital evacuation planning tool for assistance devices (HEPTAD)

An evacuation model validation data-set for high-rise construction sites

The modelling of pedestrian vehicle interaction for post-exiting behaviour

Perception and recollection of fire hazards in dwelling fires

Perceptions of autonomous vehicles: Relationships with road users, risk, gender and age

Professor Ed Galea is the founding Director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group (FSEG) at the University of Greenwich. He leads a team investigating how fires spread and how people in emergency situations respond - using computer modelling - in buildings, aircraft, ships, rail transport and urban environments. His work has informed disaster management, the designs of airplanes, buildings and passenger ships (based on the best layouts for evacuation),  and the invention of tools used in safety modelling globally. He manages the research activities of 20 full-time psychologists, fire engineers, computer scientists and mathematicians. His personal research interests include human evacuation behaviour, crowd dynamics, evacuation and crowd modelling, and fire modelling.

Ed’s recent projects include: a study into the human factors associated with the evacuation of the World Trade Center, a Homeland Security project (supported by the US DoD) to develop a real-time evacuation management system for the Pentagon building, understanding human behaviour associated with the impact of security bollards on evacuation, and the modelling of respiratory droplets during the COVID-19 pandemic to assess social distancing measures. Ed is the Vice-Chair of the International Association of Fire Safety Science. He has served on several major public inquires and legal cases as an expert in fire and evacuation including: the Paddington Rail Crash, the Swiss Air MD11 crash, the Admiral Duncan pub bombing, and the Grenfell Tower block fire.

Fire and Evacuation

Evacuation

Computational Fire Engineering

Fire Safety

Civil Defence

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Director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group

FSEG director, Prof Ed Galea was interviewed on the BBC Radio 4 TODAY programme this morning concerning the successful escalator trials at Holborn Underground Station in London. FSEG research concerning escalators from 2008 to 2012, which included modelling using the buildingEXODUS software, suggested that improved flow performance could be achieved if both lanes were used for standing passengers. The trials, conducted by the Dept for Transport at Holborn underground station in London confirm these observations. The trials at Holborn underground station will now be extended for a further 6 months.

Escalator efficiency - BBC Radio4 TODAY

This version of the video can hopefully be viewed in mainland Europe and Australia. 

The volcanic eruption that wiped out Pompeii and Herculaneum occurred nearly 2000 years ago.  This documentary, produced for the History Channel Canada, Smithsonian Channel USA, UKTV in the UK, ZDF in Germany (and shown on Yesterday in the UK as part of the ‘Mummies Alive’ programme Series 1 Episode 6, Hero of Herculaneum) considers what happened to over 350 people whose remains were found in boat sheds.  In particular it attempts to reconstruct the story around a Roman soldier found on the beach.  Prof Galea of FSEG provided some input into the programme considering what may have lead these people to the beach and what the role of the solider may have been.  

One suggestion from the programme is that the people were sleeping in the boat sheds when they perished.  However, due to the number of people found in the boat sheds, Prof Galea disagrees with this suggestion.  Unfortunately his thoughts on this were not part of the programme that was broadcast. 

The boat sheds had a floor area of between 5 m2 and  11 m2 and so were small.  In the 12 boat sheds there were between 12 and 51 people found in each – shed 3 had 12 people, 4 had 51, 5 had 20, 7 had 12, 8 had 22, 9 had 36, 10 had 45, 11 had 22 and 12 had 31.  The remains of 66 people were found on the beach.

With 51 people in a shed this would result in a population density of between 4.6 people/m2 and 10.2 people/m2, with 12 people in a shed this would result in a population density of between 1.1 people/m2 and 2.4 people/m2.  For the higher densities it would be impossible for these people to be sleeping on the floor, they would be piled on top of each other.  Also, the majority of people within the sheds were either women and children with the majority of people on the beach being males.

Prof Galea suggests (not shown in the programme) that another  possible explanation is that the majority of people were on the beach.  Some of the sheds, in particular the lightly populated ones may have had a number of women and children already in them, perhaps sleeping while the majority of the male family members were on the beach waiting for rescue.   Just before the end, the people on the beach made a dash for the cover of the boat sheds just before they were killed.  This would explain the severe overcrowding in some of the sheds.  The males would have sent their children and women folk for cover while they remained on the beach possibly explaining the predominance of males on the beach and not in the shelter of the boat sheds.  

In the UK you can watch the entire programme on:
http://uktvplay.uktv.co.uk/shows/mummies-alive/watch-online/?video=4274803757001

P.S. Prof Galea would like to add that he has not been in a plane crash, not sure where the programme director got that from!

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