- Author
- Kuligowski, E. D. | Bukowski, R. W.
- Title
- Design of Occupant Egress Systems for Tall Buildings.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Book or Conf
- CIB World Building Congress 2004 (CIB 2004): Building for the Future in conjunction with Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and Energy Conservation in Buildings, 5th International Conference (IAQVEC 2004) and Multipurpose High-Rise Towers and Tall Buildings, 6th International Conference (HTB). Proceedings. CIB HTB T3S1 Design for Fire Safety. May 1-7, 2004, Toronto, Canada, 1-11 pp, 2004 AND Use of Elevators in Fires and Other Emergencies Workshop. Proceedings. Co-Sponsored by American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME International); National Institute of Stanards and Technology (NIST); International Code Council (ICC); National Fire Protection Association (NFPA); U.S. Access Board and International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). March 2-4, 2004, Atlanta, GA, 1-12 pp, 2004, 2004
- Keywords
- elevators (lifts) | emergencies | fire fighters | occupants | evacuation | egress | codes | high rise buildings | fire departments | refuge | building codes
- Identifiers
- safe and reliable equipment; firefighter lift case study; summary of GSA buildings and modeling results; ELVAC model
- Abstract
- This paper presents a discussion of the features of protected elevator systems that can provide safe and reliable operation both for fire service access and for occupant egress during fires. These features include water tolerant components, fail-safe power, lobbies on each floor designed as areas of refuge, smoke protection, occupant communications, and real time monitoring of the elevator position and operating conditions from the fire command center. Egress simulations are used to quantify the improvements in efficiency that can be realized by incorporating elevators into the access and egress procedures for tall buildings. Finally, operational procedures will be discussed for the most appropriate use of vertically zoned elevator systems that are found in most tall buildings. These procedures would form the basis for the elevator control software that needs to be developed for such systems.