- Author
- Harrison, G. A.
- Title
- High-Rise Fire Problem.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC
- Journal
- CRC Critical Reviews in Environmental Control, Vol. 4, No. 4, 483-505, October 1974
- Report
- CIB W14/120/75 (USA),
- Keywords
- high rise buildings | fuel load | fire spread | smoke movement | life safety | evacuation | fire departments | human behavior | sprinkler systems | building codes
- Abstract
- Although fire fatalities occurring in high-rise buildings located within the United States are "...'statistically insignificant', i.e., so low that they have not affected insurance premiums for liability," the potential threat of a large number of people being exposed to a serious fire in a high-rise building exists and is of increasing concern. Loss of life from fires in high-rise buildings was a rare event during a thrity-year period ending in 1960. Part of the explanation lies in the fact that during that period there were not very many high-rises compared to today's building population. For example, only 55 buildings in the United States exceeded 600 (44 stories) in height, with 38 such buildings in New York city, 2 in Chicago, and the remainder located in only 6 North American cities.