- Author
- Fahy, R. F. | Proulx, G.
- Title
- Study of Occupant Behavior During the World Trade Center Evacuation.
- Coporate
- National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
- Sponsor
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Contract
- NIST-GRANT-60NANB2D1286
- Book or Conf
- Interscience Communications Ltd.; National Institute of Standards and Technology; Building Research Establishment; and Society of Fire Protection Engineers; Swedish National Testing and Research Institute. Interflam '96. International Interflam Conference, 7th Proceedings. March 26-28, 1996, Interscience Communications Ltd., London, England, Cambridge, England, Franks, C. A.; Grayson, S., Editors, 793-802 p., 1996
- Keywords
- fire safety | human beings | human behavior | evacuation | fire alarm systems | smoke movement | refuge | training | human response | male | female | occupants | terrorists | terrorism | World Trade Center
- Identifiers
- World Trade Center Plaza, Manhattan, New York, February 26, 1993; initial awareness of the incident; perception of seriousness; reporting the incident or notifying others; how long did it take to leave the building; prior fire safety information; analysis of first five actions; comparison of actions between the two towers; comparison of actions of male and female respondents
- Abstract
- On February 26, 1993, shortly after noon, a bomb exploded in a garage below the World Trade Center plaza in New York city. 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 (NRC) undertook a research project, funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the General Services Administration, NFPA and NRC, to study the human behavior of building occupants in this incident and to document, to the extent possible, those engineering details such as building design, fire safety features, and smoke spread, that effected behavior. The purpose of this project was to collect and preserve human behavior data. The information gathered will aid in the understanding of what people do in fires and why and how those actions may conform to or differ from the assumptions used in designing and planning for life safety in such a large building. Results will help in work toward the improvement of fire safety in similar occupancies and to enhance the knowledge needed in the development of emergency evacuation models. Surveys were sent to fire wardens and other members of tenants' fire safety teams, a total of 1,598 people, a sample that covered every occupied floor and was of a manageable size. The bomb was placed closer to Tower 1 than Tower 2 and responses to many of the questions differ between occupants of the two towers.