I was told by my doctor years ago, that squatting is a much better position to take "to effect the most efficient evacuation"
I always think about that whenever we have a fire drill at work.
And yes - there are major cultural differences that I believe need to be explained. For instance, in Osaka airport, there are toilets which I literally did not know how to use. They were a trough in the ground with a small arched covering at one end.
After staring at it for about a minute, I decided to wait until I was on the plane.
Weird.