Evacuation Plans and ASMU: Automation in Emergency Situations

In Ukraine, most buildings—including residential complexes, offices, shopping malls, schools, hospitals, and industrial facilities—are required to have evacuation plans. However, in a real emergency (fire, gas leak, smoke spread, terrorist threat), these plans often remain merely a piece of paper: people do not know the routes, doors are blocked, emergency lighting fails, and staff cannot quickly coordinate actions.

Modern Automated Monitoring and Control Systems (ASMU) transform a static “evacuation plan” into a dynamic, intelligent system capable of making decisions and managing the evacuation process in real time.

Why Traditional Evacuation Plans Often Fail

• People do not react in time or panic
• Smoke blocks primary evacuation routes
• Emergency exits are locked or obstructed
• No current information about the fire location or the number of people in each zone
• Non-functioning or insufficient emergency lighting and notification
• Lack of coordination between fire alarms, access control, ventilation, and elevators

ASMU solves these problems automatically and instantly.

How ASMU Automates the Evacuation Process

Dynamic Evacuation Routes

ASMU receives real-time data from smoke and temperature sensors, thermal cameras, and people-detection systems (via Wi-Fi/Bluetooth tags or video analytics). The system independently determines the safest routes and displays them on illuminated signs, information boards, and mobile apps for personnel and visitors.

Automatic Door Unlocking and Opening

All electromagnetic locks and turnstiles in access control systems automatically switch to “free passage” mode. Emergency exits, normally locked, are opened via electric actuators or backup-powered electromechanical locks.

Smoke Control and Ventilation Management

The system automatically shuts off air supply to the fire zone, activates overpressure in stairwells and elevator shafts, and starts smoke extraction. This slows smoke spread and gives people additional minutes to evacuate.

Intelligent Emergency Lighting and Voice Announcements

Illuminated arrows and “Exit” signs highlight only the routes that are currently safe. Voice messages in Ukrainian and English change depending on the fire location: “Use the exit to your left,” “Do not use the elevator,” etc.

Elevator Blocking and Evacuation Mode

Elevators automatically descend to the ground floor, open their doors, and shut down to prevent people from becoming trapped during the fire.

Information Transfer to Emergency Services Before They Arrive

ASMU automatically sends the State Emergency Service (DSNS) the exact fire location, number of people in the building, open/closed zones, fire damper status, and a map of current evacuation routes.

Benefits of Intelligent Evacuation with ASMU

• Reaction time measured in fractions of a second instead of minutes
• Reduced human error and panic
• Dynamic adaptation to real conditions (bypassing blocked areas)
• Increased chances of survival even in complex scenarios (nighttime, high occupancy)
• Compliance with the strictest regulations, including DBN B.1.1-7:2016 “Fire Safety of Buildings” and European standards
• Integration capability with existing fire alarm and access control systems

Stages of Implementing Automated Evacuation

1. Building audit and analysis of existing evacuation plans
2. Installation or upgrade of sensors (smoke, temperature, people detection)
3. System integration: fire alarm ↔ access control ↔ ventilation ↔ lighting ↔ voice notification
4. Configuration of scenarios and dynamic routing logic
5. Scenario testing (including full corridor smoke simulations)
6. Staff training and integration with the DSNS control panel

Evacuation plans no longer remain static diagrams on a wall. With ASMU, they become a living system that independently determines the safest path, opens doors, disables elevators, activates lighting and voice guidance, limits smoke spread, and notifies rescuers.
This is not the future—it is a reality available today. And in wartime conditions, when the risk of emergencies has sharply increased, such automation is not a luxury but a mandatory component of safety for every facility.