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16/07/2004
Ulster academics to probe Twin Towers safety
Researchers from the University of Ulster are to take part in an international safety project that aims to interview more than 2,000 survivors of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
The £1.6m study will be the biggest-ever involving people caught up in the terrorist attack on New York's Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.
A team from the university's Institute for Fire Safety Engineering Research and Technology (FireSERT), led by Professor Jim Shields, will aim to find out which elements in the towers' design helped or hindered their escape.
While several studies are already underway into structural issues, less attention has been paid to the way the buildings were evacuated.
Professor Shields said: “The survivors of the September 11 disaster are key to our understanding of how to design a safer built environment.
"Their individual and collective experiences could significantly influence the next generation of performance based building codes and the design of medium and high rise.
"The project will involve substantial knowledge and technology transfer, with the data obtained being archived and made available to all bona-fide researchers.”
The new three-year project, HEED (High-rise Evacuation Evaluation Database), will bring together engineers and psychologists.
The latter will play a crucial role in obtaining useful information from the survivors, many of whom are still likely to be traumatised by their experience.
HEED is funded by a £1.6m grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
(GB)
The £1.6m study will be the biggest-ever involving people caught up in the terrorist attack on New York's Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.
A team from the university's Institute for Fire Safety Engineering Research and Technology (FireSERT), led by Professor Jim Shields, will aim to find out which elements in the towers' design helped or hindered their escape.
While several studies are already underway into structural issues, less attention has been paid to the way the buildings were evacuated.
Professor Shields said: “The survivors of the September 11 disaster are key to our understanding of how to design a safer built environment.
"Their individual and collective experiences could significantly influence the next generation of performance based building codes and the design of medium and high rise.
"The project will involve substantial knowledge and technology transfer, with the data obtained being archived and made available to all bona-fide researchers.”
The new three-year project, HEED (High-rise Evacuation Evaluation Database), will bring together engineers and psychologists.
The latter will play a crucial role in obtaining useful information from the survivors, many of whom are still likely to be traumatised by their experience.
HEED is funded by a £1.6m grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
(GB)
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