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Building Groups Fight Against Third Stairwell in High-Rise Buildings
Below are comments from Fire Engineering Contributing Editor Jack J. Murphy regarding this article from Engineering News (subscription required):


The ink is not yet even dry on the IBC final code hearing in Rochester this past summer where one of the 30 NIST/WTC recommendations on high-rise building was made into a code. Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), American Institute of Architects (AIA), and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) need to take into consideration that all-hazard emergencies other than fire will require various evacuations to safeguard the occupants. Some of the types of all-hazard evacuations are: internal building relocation, partial or full building evacuations. The need for a third stair in a mega high-rise building (420 feet) is more prevalent today because of the potential threats, whether man-made or natural. Each type of evacuation will depend on the incident situational awareness to the building and how to best act accordingly to an all-hazard threat. OSHA is also advocating that all large occupied buildings participate in emergency preparedness beyond just fire.

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posted by Peter Prochilo
 10/16/2007 02:57:00 PM

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2 Comments:

Blogger Bruce Lacillade said...

I strongly support the third stairwell in a highrise building. As a retired Fire Prevention Inspector(Burlington,Ontario)
I was involved in the retro-fitting of a number of high-rise(>7 stories)residential bldgs.
Even though a Retro-fit Section was added to the Ontario Fire Code in the 1990's we still had to, at times, be rather creative in achieving compliance and at times go with meetint the 'intent'of the Code. A third stairwell will not only add to the safety of the evac. of the occupants but also aid in fire suppression.

Wed Oct 17, 10:23:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Peter Prochilo said...

Comments below by George H. Potter:

Forty plus story hgh rises are extremely complicated structures. Thousands of persons, some, few or many, could be disabled or handicapped. The evacuation of these occupants and possible visitors is extremely complicated, and if free flowing access by fire and rescue responders is hampered by the flow of evacuees, the results could be disastrous. There are projects in the USA and world-wide for buildings surpassing 100 floors, hinting at occupancies of possibly 10,000 persons per building.

If builders and promoters oppose a third, or more stairwells, their utter disregard for life safety is obvious. It also indicates their total lack of respect for humanity. A point to ponder, how many of these grand and enlightened businessmen have their offices or corporate headquarters above the 10th floor?

George H. Potter
Fire Protection Specialist
High rise operations instructor

Fri Oct 19, 08:34:00 AM EDT  

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