National Study to Assess & Restructure Response to High-Rise Disasters

DHS and FEMA have funded a new study aimed at answering questions stemming from 9/11 about the risks of fighting high-rise fires and the efficacy of existing response methods. In a series of experiments, actual working firefighters will be deployed to simulated multi-alarm high-rise fires. The crews will provide realistic data on the time required to complete critical tasks. Various crew sizes, fire apparatus configurations, deployment and firefighting schemes will be evaluated. The study will also evaluate new approaches to firefighting and building design that could make high-rise firefighting more effective and safer for the fire service. It will be led jointly through a longstanding partnership between the Fire Protection Engineering Department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the Center for Public Safety Excellence, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Urban Institute. To read more, click here.