Human Behavior in the World Trade Center Evacuation.
Human Behavior in the World Trade Center Evacuation.
(903 K)
Fahy, R. F.; Proulx, G.
International Association for Fire Safety Science. Fire
Safety Science. Proceedings. Fifth (5th) International
Symposium. March 3-7, 1997, Melbourne, Australia, Intl.
Assoc. for Fire Safety Science, Boston, MA, Hasemi, Y.,
Editor(s), 713-724 pp, 1997.
Sponsor:
National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Gaithersburg, MD
Keywords:
fire research; fire safety; fire science; human
behavior; bombs (ordnance); evacuation; egress;
explosions; high rise buildings; office buildings;
response time; occupants; surveys; terrorists;
terrorism; World Trade Center
Abstract:
An explosion below the World Trade Center plaza in New
York City on February 26, 1993, killed six workers, and
resulted in injuries to over 1,000 occupants as they
made their way out of the affected buildings. The
explosion and subsequent fire caused extensive
structural damage on several basement levels, interfered
with the operation of the fire protection and other
emergency systems and resulted in the evacuation of tens
of thousands of occupants of the complex. The National
Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the National
Research Council of Canada (NRCC) undertook a research
project, funded by the National Institute of Standards
and Technology, the General Services Administration,
NFPA and NRC, to study the behavior of building
occupants in this incident and to document, to the
extent possible, those engineering details such as
building design, fire safety features, training, and
smoke spread, that effected behavior. Over 400
occupants of the two 110-story office towers responded
to a survey sent to the approximately 1,600 employees
and tenants who were members of the fire safety team.
This paper summarizes their responses, compares the
responses between the two towers, and summarizes data on
response times and initial actions.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899