The report reviews the understanding of the behaviour of people in fire situations and indicates those areas in which future psychological research may be of value. For such research to be fruitful it is argued that a measure of the effectiveness of behaviour in fire situations should be developed. The links this measure has to escape action and the way it relates to the recognition of the fire occurence is also discussed. Finally, the roles of general attitudes towards fires and preparedness for a fire in a particular situation in influencing the eventual effectiveness of behaviour are explored.