For office buildings, the casualty estimate is approximately per parking space?

• A. 2
• B. 1.5
• C. 1
• D. 0.5

Answer: (B)

In mass-casualty estimation for a collapse, you convert the affected area into an expected number of victims using occupancy-specific casualty densities. For office environments, a standard planning value is approximately 1.5 casualties per parking space. This reflects that a single parking-space area can encompass or influence nearby people—those in adjacent offices, corridors, or transit paths—so the average number of casualties per parking space lands between single-victim scenarios and higher-density scenarios.

Why this value fits well: it’s a moderate estimate that accounts for variability in building layout, occupancy patterns, and debris spread, providing a practical starting point for rapid resource planning. Using this density, you’d estimate casualties by multiplying the number of affected parking spaces by about 1.5, which helps gauge initial needs for rescue teams, equipment, and medical support.

The other options would over- or under-estimate in typical office-collapse scenarios: 2 would push planning toward a higher casualty load than often seen, while 0.5 would underrepresent potential victims, and 1 would undercount in many real-world layouts.