Building Safety Codes Changed After 9/11

The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center identified a new, challenging frontier in public safety for the?? International Code Council, the primary developer of construction industry building safety codes and standards used throughout the United States.

Among the experts serving on the committee created to address the 9/11 tragedy were code enforcement officials representing building and fire departments, design professionals and fire protection engineers.

The nation’s building and fire codes, historically, have been responsive to tragedy. Whether it was the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York City, or more recent natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, construction codes have been reevaluated to address the consequences of natural disasters. The Code Council’s activity heightened when the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal agency, released its Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Center, which contained 30 broad recommendations for the model codes, standards industry, design community and emergency responders.?Į?ĮChanges to the International

Codes as a result of 9/11 include:

• Elevators are required in high-rise buildings more than 120 feet tall so firefighters can get to, and fight fires, without walking up from the ground floor with heavy equipment
• An additional stairway for high-rises that are more than 420 feet tall
• In lieu of the additional stairway, an option to provide enhanced elevators that can be used by the building occupants for emergency evacuation without waiting for assistance from emergency personnel
• A higher standard for fire resistance in high-rise buildings more than 420 feet tall
• More robust fire proofing for buildings more than 75 feet tall, which will be less likely to be dislodged by impacts or explosions
• Shafts enclosing elevators and exit stairways that have impact resistant walls
• Self-luminous exit pathway markings in all exit stairways that provide a lighted pathway when both the primary and secondary lighting fails; and
• Radio coverage systems within the building to allow emergency personnel to better communicate within the building and with emergency staff outside the building supporting the response.