## 3 Results and Discussion  
### Smartphones and Mobile Signals  
The first question explored whether occupants were holding smartphones at the time of the interview. All interviewees stated that they always carry a smartphone (as shown in Figure 2) and that it is very important for them as it contains work-related and other essential private information. From the responses to this interview question, it is safe to assume that smartphones can be used as a tool during a fire emergency since all interviewees owned/were carrying/reported generally carrying a smartphone. Question 2 investigated the importance of carrying the smartphone during evacuation. All interviewees stated that they would be holding their smartphones during evacuation, as shown in Figure 3. One interviewee stated, \"smartphones are an easy way to communicate with people\" and another interviewee stated, \"it has private and personal information that I would feel more comfortable carrying with me\". Three interviewees expressed that even if their smartphone is far from them within their apartment they would look for it before starting the evacuation process. Nine interviewees explained that the importance of holding a smartphone during evacuation is based on the amount of information that could be received either from other building occupants who have already evacuated the building, from firefighters, or from other family members. Figure 1: Distribution of interviewees by country. All interviewees believed that holding the smartphone during evacuation would not just allow them to communicate with others but would also allow them to feel safer, since they can call for help at any point. The terms \"very important\", \"information\", \"communication\" repeatedly occurred in all the 17 interviews conducted with occupants who currently live in high-rise residential buildings in Egypt. Two interviewees stated that technology plays an important role in their daily life and, since the smartphone is with them all the time, it seemed sensible to use it during a fire emergency. Seven other interviewees explained the importance of holding the smartphone during evacuation to seek help and call the fire services if they had not already been called. Question 3 of the interview solicited occupants' opinions about the possibility of signal problems that could affect the smartphone during evacuation. It is clear from the responses that interviewees believed that fire or smoke would not affect the signal of their smartphone. One interviewee stated that \"there are many places we go to and we find that there is no smartphone signal, but we still carry the smartphone, so I will still be willing to carry the smartphone during evacuation and take the risk\". It is worth noting that the word \"risk\" was used five times in interviewees' responses to this question, however it was clear that occupants are still willing to carry their smartphones during evacuation. As all interviewees expressed that fire and smoke would not affect smartphone signals in high-rise residential buildings, there were concerns about the use of smartphones through emergency routes. One interviewee explained: \"I believe that there might be signalling problems during the emergency exit routes as they are usually safe and I think the signal will be affected by the construction materials especially concrete\". \"Building material\" occurred in five interviewees' responses. The responses to Question 3 clearly raise the issue of weak signals in lifts, underground parking, stairs, and in some areas of the building. Smartphone signals in the apartments as expressed by interviewees are much stronger compared with other parts of the building such as floor corridors. Although interviewees expressed concerns over signalling problems in some parts of the building, all interviewees pointed out that the smartphone usually functions properly even with a weak signal and they can still receive or make calls.