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Still frame taken from video of full-scale mock-up experiments (sprinklered) at 50 seconds.
The nightclub platform area was reconstructed in NIST’s large fire laboratory to examine, in a controlled environment, how the fire may have spread in a full-scale reconstruction of the nightclub, and to measure the temperature, heat flux, and gaseous products. During the test, it took less than 90 seconds after ignition of the foam in the drummer’s alcove for conditions in the middle of the room, at head height, to be lethal.
In addition to full-scale and small-scale fire tests, computer simulations were also used in the investigation. As a result of this research, ten recommendations were made to improve building safety, evacuation and emergency response procedures.
These findings and recommendations available in the report, Report of the Technical Investigation of The Station Nightclub Fire, by William
Grosshandler, Nelson Bryner, Daniel Madrzykowski, and Kenneth Kuntz, NIST
NCSTR2: Volume 1, and Volume 2: Appendices, which is available at:
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs
/releases/RI_finalreport_june2905.htm. For a DVD of the reports,
contact Nelson Bryner via e-mail:
nelson.bryner@nist.gov.
To address concerns that were identified after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, NIOSH and the Science and Technology Policy Institute (S&TPI) [formerly managed by the Rand Corporation] organized a
Cover of report.
conference in New York City on the protective
equipment needs when responding to terrorist incidents. During the conference,
participants repeatedly identified the need for firefighters, emergency
medical service responders, and law enforcement officers to have better
protective equipment and more effective safety management so that they can
bring emergency situations under control before they turn into disasters.
To meet these identified needs, NIOSH and S&TPI undertook a study to
better understand safety management in major natural and manmade disasters.
To obtain information, they conducted an extensive literature review,
interviewed members of the response community, and held a conference where representatives across the responder community discussed recommendations for improving safety management. The results of these efforts are included in the report, Protecting Emergency Responders. Volume 3: Safety Management in Disaster and Terrorism Response, by Brian A. Jackson, John C. Baker, M. Susan Ridgely, James T. Bartis, and Herbert I. Linn, released jointly by the Rand Corporation and NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Department of Health and Human Services).
The report offers a comprehensive set of strategies and tactics for improving the safety of responders including preparation before an event and effective management afterwards.
To obtain a complimentary copy of this report, you
may download it from
http://www.rand.org/publications /MG/MG170/. Earlier reports in this
series are also available: Volume 1. Lessons Learned From Terrorist
Attacks, downloaded from
http://www.rand.org/publications /CF/CF176/ and Volume 2:
Community Views of Safety and Health Risks and Personal Protection Needs,
downloaded from
http://www.rand.org/publications /MR/MR1646/.
The New York State Museum in Albany, N.Y. has opened a long-term exhibit, The World Trade Center: Rescue Response Recovery. The exhibit is divided into three parts: Rescue -- the first 24 hours after the attack as witnessed by Fire Department of New York’s (FDNY) Engine Company 6 (they lost four firefighters in the
towers collapse); Recovery -- the process of how over 10 months, 1.8 million tons of WTC debris were carefully sifted for clues, personal items, and human remains at Staten Island’s Fresh Kills Landfill (“kills” is the Dutch word for small stream; the Dutch were the first Europeans
to settle in the New York City area); and Response
-- people’s reactions to the attacks throughout New York, the United States,
and around the world.
The exhibit contains WTC artifacts, photographs, interactive computer
stations, and a motion picture.
There are many items, large and small, that tell the story of the buildings and the recovery efforts, including such items found in the debris such as floppy disks, keys, destroyed street lampposts, fire hydrants.
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