CommonWealth Partners says that a 22-story Century City office tower at 1888 Century City Park East is the first multi-tenant office building in Los Angeles to use virtual reality to conduct fire drills.
The real estate firm said it opted to deploy virtual reality technology to help ensure all occupants know how to respond in an emergency whenever they are in the office.
“The value of VR fire drills extends beyond our adaptation to office restrictions during the pandemic; it will enable building tenants to train their employees on emergency practices at any time, rather than waiting for periodic in-person trainings which may only occur once a year,” the company said in a release.
Web VR fire drills and life safety training allow building occupants to use their smartphones, tablets, or desktop computers to explore their surroundings, locate stairwells and fire extinguishers and exit the building, the company added. “As users navigate their building throughout the VR experience, they can learn how to use a fire extinguisher or emergency phones, find out what happens when the building goes into alarm, and receive video-based instruction from a firefighter,” the real estate company said.
Users can also learn about responding to a wide range of other emergencies, such as earthquakes, medical emergencies, and bomb threats.
VR drills allow any building occupant to participate in training on their first day in the building, rather than waiting up to a year for the next drill, Commonwealth Partners said, adding that VR drills also offer a richer learning experience as users can exit the building via all stairwells, not just the one they happen to use during a traditional drill, and learn about all life safety systems and procedures.
The company also highlighted the fact that VR fire drills don’t disrupt building operations.
Developed by AK Preparedness, the new SafetyNet VR solution involves creating a photo-realistic 3D model of a building’s interior and then embedding information about stairwells and life safety equipment.
