Panel May Recommend
Firefighter Elevators

Most countries require skyscrapers to have a set of special fire-resistant elevators so rescue workers can reach upper floors quickly during emergencies, and so disabled occupants can get out. The U.S. doesn't.

Why the country that invented the skyscraper doesn't mimic the rest of the world in this respect will be heavily debated in the building community soon. The government agency investigating the World Trade Center collapse is preparing its final recommendations on changes to building safety in June, and requiring firefighter elevators might be on the list.

In a preliminary report this month, the agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an arm of the U.S. Commerce Department, listed firefighter lifts as a possible recommendation on how to make tall buildings safer.

Building codes in Europe and most of Asia require firefighter lifts, though specific requirements differ. In both places, firefighter elevators are located near fire stairs, in a part of the building where the air is pressurized to keep smoke out. The shafts are water resistant to prevent damage from sprinklers and fire hoses. The elevators' mechanical and electrical systems are rated to work in wet conditions. The doors have to be fire-rated.

European codes require a small dedicated elevator for use only during emergencies. They're large enough to carry three firefighters with equipment. In most Asian countries, including China, the elevators tend to be larger and can also be used during normal operation for freight.

Critics of the European model say the elevators are too small, and because they aren't in use all the time, might fall into disrepair. Detractors of the Asian model, meantime, say because they are in use for freight service, they could be blocked with goods when an emergency happens.

Current U.S. practice allows firefighters to use elevators to reach the fire and evacuate disabled people. But the elevators don't have special protection like in Europe and Asia.

Architect Cesar Pelli has designed dozens of skyscrapers, both in the U.S. and abroad, including the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which are among the tallest in the world. Some of his buildings have firefighter lifts, some don't. Does he feel more comfortable about his buildings that have them? "I've never thought of it, but yes, I do feel a little bit more comfortable."

At least one building in the U.S. will have something akin to a firefighter lift, though the building's architect, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, is not calling it that. The Freedom Tower, the skyscraper that is planned to rise next to where the Twin Towers fell, will use a system similar to the Asian model, where a set of service elevators would be placed in a pressurized fire-protected lobby near the fire stairs.

But the Freedom Tower could be the only U.S. building with such elevators. NIST's recommendations are advisory only. Model codes on elevators in high rises are written by a coalition of builders, engineers, architects and fire-safety professionals. It's then up to local governments to adopt or amend the model codes.

Also in the way of adoption will be the price tag. "It's really a lot of extra cost," says Johannes de Jong, director of products and technology for Kone, a Finland-based elevator manufacturer. In addition to the elevator itself, there's the loss of usable square footage, as well as maintenance and other costs.

The final NIST study, which also examines why the towers collapsed, is expected to focus on improving how firefighters get into buildings, and how occupants, especially disabled ones, get out. Of the 212 elevators in the Twin Towers, only two worked after the planes hijacked by terrorists hit the New York skyscrapers on Sept. 11, 2001. It took firefighters more than an hour to climb to around the 30th floor of the North Tower.

Rescue workers on Sept. 11 found 40 to 60 disabled occupants grouped on the 12th floor of the North Tower. "These impaired individuals had been placed on this floor in an attempt to clear the stairways," according to the institute's presentation. It is unclear how many from that group perished.

Disability-rights activists are strong supporters of the elevators. "What we learned from 9/11 and many events before 9/11 is the ability to evacuate multistory buildings is an issue for a broad spectrum of people who would never identify themselves as disabled, but who couldn't negotiate so many steps," says June Kailes, a Los-Angeles based disability-policy consultant.

Email your comments to rjeditor@dowjones.com.