Emergency Egress and Access.
Emergency Egress and Access.
(81 K)
Averill, J. D.
CTBUH2005;
Renewing the Urban Landscape. 7th World Congress.
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH2005).
Proceedings. October 16-19, 2005, New York City, NY,
2005.
Keywords:
high rise buildings; urban habitat; egress; emergencies;
training; management systems
Abstract:
Tall buildings present a unique and challenging egress
environment. The very aspect ratio which makes tall
buildings economically desirable accentuates the impact
of egress and other building systems. Further, recent
events have raised important questions about the egress
design and procedural assumptions traditionally used in
tall building design. This presentation will discuss how
technology, training, and emergency management can
address the challenges of tall building egress and
access. Elevators will likely play a key future role in
both fire department access and occupant egress,
particularly for mobility challenged-occupants.
Coordination and information flow between building
systems, building management, emergency responders, call
centers, and occupants will be discussed. These are
presented in the context of the findings and
recommendations of the NIST World Trade Center
Investigation with regard to recommended changes to
codes, standards, and practices.
