Re: Idea for Twin Towers rescue?

"Magnus, Robot Fighter" <Me@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

>How about emergency stations on each floor loaded with parachutes?

Parachutes need a lot of training to use right.  You'd end up with
(incorrectly) desperate people jumping off a building that wasn't
going to collapse and then the chute wasn't buckled properly and they
fall off it.  Most fires are resolved.

I notice that the giant ferries used to connect Vancouver Island to
the BC mainland now use friction tubes to connect the upper floors
five stories down to the lifeboats.  I don't know the details involved
and what they do if someone jams or if something in his pocket catches
on the material or several other "what ifs".  And I suspect that the
upper end in the ferry case would be staffed by a crew member that
would prevent failure-of-common-sense issues like someone tossing a
too-small child down the tube.  One of these extendible friction tubes
might make more sense than parachutes.  

But I don't know whether friction tubes are better than just building
stronger walls around the stairwells.  I believe that I've read that
the WTC stairwells were just walled in with gypsum board.  Would a
better firewall have allowed those people to just walk out?  There's
one guy who walked out from above the fire zone in one of the WTC
towers.  The guys with him decided to head for the roof instead.

After the 1993 bombing, the WTC did several practice evacuations with
disastrous elapsed times.  They then did extensive training of their
security people (and wardens in some of the offices?).  Apparently
they were spectacularly good at getting people below the fire zone
out.  
-- 
Tomorrow is today already.
Greg Goss, 1989-01-27