United States can learn from worldwide fire engineering expertise

摘要

After nearly three years of research, the draft of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report into the collapse of the World Trade Center towers was released in June of this year. Readers were invited to submit comments by early August and the final report was issued to coincide with a seminar at NIST headquarters in Maryland in mid-September. The report deals specifically with the collapse of the twin towers and the recommendations are explicitly aimed at tall buildings, defined as taller than 20 storeys, and buildings of special risk. NIST has used the launch of the report to call on the organisations that develop building and fire safety codes, standards and practices--and the state and local agencies that adopt them--to make specific changes to improve the safety of tall buildings, their occupants and emergency services. The report, which incorporates the results of 43 detailed technical investigations, makes 30 recommendations divided into eight groups (see box).