| The World Trade Center disaster leaves designers and building owners wondering about what level of sophistication is necessary in designing fire protection systems.
ZENAA/Jeroen Morrien People fleeing on Church Street at 8:50 a.m.
It's hard to improve on perfection. The statement sounds ridiculous when the subject matter is high-rise fire safety. Nonetheless, to the best of my knowledge, there has never been a fire death in a sprinklered high-rise office building in Canada. From that point of view, a perfect record exists.
There is, however, also a saying: "This is a disaster waiting to happen." Some might say that high-rise buildings are that disaster waiting to happen and that September 11 proves it.
A great deal of investigation is taking place regarding the performance of the World Trade Center after the terrorist attacks, but most early reports seem to be focusing on the structural aspects of the buildings, what contributed to their collapse and what can be learned. Unfortunately, the details of how the other fire protection systems performed and aspects of occupant behaviour are still anecdotal and not yet available in an accurate and reliable form.
This brings us to an interesting point -- information. Fewer things are more frustrating than wanting a piece of information and not getting it. Is the plane on time? Why is the traffic not moving? Will it rain today? Why am I still on hold? And by the way, a plane just crashed into the building beside us, should we evacuate? | 